BT  613  . B3  1913 
Barry,  Charles  Alfred 
The  first  principles  of  the 
church 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/firstprinciplesoOObarr 


THE  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF 
THE  CHURCH 


FIRST  PRINCIPLES 
OF  THE  CHURCH 

ESSAYS  AND  NOTES 


BY 

CHARLES  ALFRED  BARRY,  M.A. 

VICAR  OF  CLIFFORD 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 


39,  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 
NEW  YORK,  BOMBAY,  AND  CALCUTTA 


1913 

All  rights  reserved 


I.  M. 

BLAISE  PASCAL 

CUI  TANTUM  DEBEO 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction . .  xi 

ESSAY  I 

Justification  and  Sanctification .  i 

Note  I.  Baptism  . . 12 

Note  2.  Renewal  . . 14 

ESSAY  II 

The  Nature  of  the  Church  .........  16 

Note  3.  Parties  . . .  .  26 

ESSAY  III 

The  Authority  of  the  Church . 29 

Note  4.  Dogma . 37 

ESSAY  IV 

The  Ministry  of  the  Church . 41 

Note  5.  St.  Paul’s  Use  of  the  Words  “Ministers  and 

Stewards  ” . 49 

Note  6.  Confirmation . 51 


CONTENTS 


vm 


ESSAY  V 

PAGE 


The  Benefit  of  Absolution  .  . 56 

Note  7.  The  Problem  of  Purity . 63 

ESSAY  VI 

The  Sacramental  Principle . 70 

Note  8.  The  Sanctity  of  the  Body . 77 

Note  9.  Grace  and  the  Means  of  Grace . 80 


ESSAY  VII 


The  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  .  .  84 

Note  10.  The  Words  of  Institution . 104 

Note  11.  The  Interpretation  of  the  Words  of  Institution  108 
Note  12.  The  Kinds  of  Sacrifice . 109 


ESSAY  VIII 


The  Value  of  the  Bible . 113 

Note  13.  Prophecy . 140 


ESSAY  IX 


Religion  and  Science . 144 

Note  14.  Prayer . 1 5 1 

Note  15.  Miracles . 154 

Note  16.  The  Difficulties  of  Faith . 161 

ESSAY  X 

Christianity  and  Philosophy . 170 

Note  17.  God . 180 

Note  18.  Nature . 183 

Note  19.  Providence . 184 

Note  20.  Personality . 185 

Note  21.  Religion . 185 

Note  22.  The  Soul . 186 


CONTENTS 


IX 


ESSAY  XI 

PAGE 

The  Church  and  Art . 18S 

Note  23.  Music  and  Poetry  in  Nineteenth  Century  .  .  199 

ESSAY  XII 

Worship  :  and  Worship  in  the  Church  of  England  .  200 

Note  24.  The  Church’s  Year  ;  Fasts  and  Festivals  .  .  217 

Conclusion . .  219 


INTRODUCTION 


The  brief  statements  of  this  book  do  not  claim 
originality,  they  aim  at  originating  thought. 

Their  dogmatic  form  is  adopted  on  three  grounds — 

1.  For  the  sake  of  suggestiveness,  which  is  often 
found  under  the  impulse  to  contradict. 

2.  As  ensuring  precision  and  compelling  concise¬ 
ness  of  statement. 

3.  Because  it  is  hoped  that  the  whole  taken 
together  suggests  a  consistent  attitude  of  mind 
sometimes  forgotten,  namely,  that  of  the  Ecclesiastic 
— a  way  of  looking  at  things  which  the  writer  believes 
to  be  very  congenial  to  the  characteristic  temper  and 
spirit  of  the  English  Church. 

To  the  teaching  of  that  Church,  the  author 
submits  every  statement  with  profound  deference, 
retracting  in  intention  anything  that  his  infirmity 
may  have  misconceived  or  misconstrued,  and  seek¬ 
ing  confirmation  for  all  that  he  has  written  that  is 
sound  and  true. 

Since  the  speculative  investigation  into  details  is 
unfruitful  and  the  study  of  details  results  in  a  loss 
of  the  sense  of  proportion,  unless  pursued  in  a  full 
consciousness  and  with  a  clear  conviction  as  to 


XI 


INTRODUCTION 


xii 

what  are  the  greatest  and  essentially  important 
matters,  it  seems  best  to  make  the  endeavour  to 
summarize  them  here,  especially  since  the  dis¬ 
crimination  of  fundamental  considerations  is 
essential  to  the  possession  of  the  ecclesiastical 
temper. 

The  study,  therefore,  of  details  must  always  be 
undertaken  mindful  of  the  greatest  matters,  viz. — 

1.  That  God  is ;  that  He  is  true ;  that  the 
“  Word  of  God  ”  is  “  the  Truth/’ 

2.  That  all  authority  for  the  Christian  is  in 
Christ ;  that  the  Scriptures  have  an  Authority  of 
Witness,  so  far  as  they  testify  of  Him  ;  that  the 
Church  has  an  Authority  of  Order,  so  far  as  it 
carries  on  His  work. 

3.  That  the  essentials  of  Faith  are  those  “  chiefly 
learned  ”  from  the  Belief,  and  implied  in  that 
summary. 

4.  That  since  God  made  all  the  world  He  is,  of 
necessity,  “  the  beginning  and  the  end  ”  ;  that  all 
the  beauty  and  order  of  the  universe  are  necessarily 
related  to  Him  ;  that  the  “  World  ”  only  hides  the 
glory  of  the  Presence  of  its  all-sovereign  and  sus¬ 
taining  Creator  sufficiently  for  the  purposes  of 
creation  to  be  fulfilled,  and  earth  to  be  a  fitting  stage 
for  the  activities  of  man — begotten  by  the  Father  of 
Spirits  in  His  own  image  and  capable  of  His  own 
likeness. 

5.  That  the  inexplicable  perversion  of  man’s 
nature  and  lot  has  been  potentially  and  practically 


INTRODUCTION 


xiii 

overcome  by  an  equally  inexplicable  but  equally 
real  redemption  ;  that  in  the  Life  of  the  Son  “  all 
things  are  made  new.” 

6.  That  God’s  intimacy  with  man  is  perfected 
by  His  indwelling  in  man,  to  sanctify  and  glorify 
and  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  creation  to  its  con¬ 
summation. 

7.  That  the  Bible  supplies  the  facts  of  the  case  ; 
that  the  Church  supplies  the  application  to  indi¬ 
vidual  living ;  that  experience  supplies  the  con¬ 
firmation  to  personal  faith. 

8.  That  the  Revelation  we  have  is  illuminative  ; 
that  affirmations  are  safe,  negations  perilous  ;  that 
the  history  of  Theology  is  largely  the  history  of 
opinion,  that  the  dogmas  of  the  Faith  are  few,  that 
over-definition  is  the  effect  of  man’s  impatience 
and  the  evidence  of  his  limitations. 

9.  That  the  following  are  cardinal  Postulates  of 
the  Christian  Life  : — 

(a)  That  God  is  and  is  love. 

(b)  That  the  fife  of  God  is  at  once  the  simplest 
in  its  unity  and  the  most  complex  in  its  constitution 
of  all  personalities. 

(c)  That  man’s  personality  is  the  image  of  the 
Divine  and  therefore  capable  of  receiving  the 
revelation  of  It. 

(d)  That  God  has  revealed  Himself  to  men, 
in  terms  intelligible  to  man,  in  the  Word  and  in  the 
Incarnation  of  the  Word. 

(e)  That  Christ  is  perfect  God  and  perfect  Man. 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


(/)  That  all  Nature  and  the  Church  are  neces¬ 
sarily  Sacramental. 

(g)  That  the  two  Sacraments  are  to  us  pre¬ 
eminently  necessary — for  light  and  grace. 

(h)  That  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  the  Body  of 
Christ  abide  a  living  unity  on  earth. 

( i )  That  the  conclusions  of  the  Creed  about  the 
Church,  about  Fellowship,  Forgiveness  and  Life, 
are  inevitable  Practical  (not  speculative)  corollaries 
of  the  preceding  truths. 

( j )  That  religion  is  pre-eminently  personal  and 
the  expression  of  personal  relations. 


ESSAY  I 

JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION 

A  working  apparatus  of  technical  terms  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  all  science,  and  Theology,  the  science  of 
religious  knowledge,  can  form  no  exception  to  the 
rule. 

Some  are  unreasonably  repelled  by  this,  being 
forgetful  that  it  may  be  very  difficult  to  think 
about  and  still  more  difficult  to  express,  what  is  very 
simple  in  experience. 

Yet  the  effort  is  worth  while,  if  it  clears,  either 
our  understanding  of  religious  truth  or  the  meaning 
of  personal  experience. 

Among  such  technical  terms,  that  of  “  Justifi¬ 
cation  ”  holds  a  very  prominent  place — yet  it  often 
seems  only  the  outworn  relic  of  bitter  and  ineffectual 
conflict,  remote  from  present  actualities  of  life. 

But,  indeed,  to  review  the  course  of  Christian 
Doctrine  (i.e.  the  general  body  of  the  Church's 
detailed  teaching  and  the  successive  currents  of 
prevalent  opinion  within  it)  is  much  like  pacing 
some  historic  gallery  of  the  past,  whose  walls  are 
hung  with  ancient  rusted  arms,  mantled  in  dust, 

B 


2  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


cumbersome,  uncouth  and  obsolete,  yet  the  me¬ 
morials  of  many  a  brave  and  serious  warfare  of  which 
we  reap  the  fruits  in  peace,  and  the  ancestral 
sources  of  the  familiar  weapons  and  effectual  equip¬ 
ment  of  to-day. 

There  is,  moreover,  especial  reason  for  placing 
Justification  in  the  forefront  of  a  volume  dealing 
with  the  “  First  principles  of  the  Church/ ’  Martin 
Luther  long  ago,  with  that  trenchant  directness  of 
religious  instinct  which  is  his  undoubted  title  to 
greatness,  fixed  upon  the  doctrine  of  Justification 
as  the  mark  of  a  stable  or  declining  Church. 

And  such  indeed  it  is,  for  it  involves  the  point  of 
connection  between  personal  and  corporate  religion, 
a  point  so  delicately  poised  that  the  most  subtle 
influence  disturbs  adjustment  in  balance  of  their 
claims  and  profoundly  influences  our  conception  of 
their  relative  value  and  importance. 

That  Justification  has  often  had  an  exaggerated 
emphasis  laid  upon  it,  to  the  loss  of  its  due  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  whole  of  Christian  fife,  is  most  true 
and  may  excuse  a  reluctance  to  enter  upon  its  con¬ 
sideration,  but  should  not  lead  any  to  overlook  or 
underrate  its  crucial  importance. 

Justification  is  not  to  be  identified  with  “  Salva¬ 
tion/’  but  it  is  a  stage  in  it,  the  beginning  of  it,  the 
foundation  of  it,  and  in  itself  assures  complete 
salvation  unless  forfeited. 

Thus,  if  any  died  immediately  on  Justification, 
they  would  be  “  saved/’  and  enter  Heaven  ;  yet 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  3 

living  on,  such  wall  not  be  "  saved/'  unless  being 
"  accounted  ”  righteous,  they  become  righteous  in 
due  season ;  bearing  the  bud,  the  blossom,  the 
fruit  of  Sanctification  ;  except,  by  God’s  infinite 
mercy,  in  mortal  extremity,  “  saved  as  by  fire  ” 
(1  Cor.  iii.  10-15). 

In  its  origin,  the  term  “  Justification  ”  means 
the  forensic  clearing  of  a  man,  through  an  acquittal 
from  guilt,  by  judicial  sentence,  at  a  legal  trial ; 
and  this  remains  the  fundamental  significance  of 
the  word  in  its  theological  use. 

Viewed  from  without ,  the  man  is  seen  standing 
before  the  bar  of  the  supreme  Judge  and  universal 
Lawgiver,  a  rebel  arraigned  by  an  accusing  con¬ 
science  on  counts  under  the  moral  Law ;  and  his 
“  Justification  ”  is  the  act  of  a  discharge  from 
guilt  and  the  “  remission  of  sins  ”  by  a  sovereign 
clemency,  mercy  and  love. 

But  within  the  man,  the  vital  experience  of  such 
an  acquittal  is  that  of  an  entry  upon  a  state  of  re¬ 
conciliation  with  a  God  Who  is  Father  and  Saviour 
and  Comforter.  Hence,  while  discharge  from  guilt 
is  the  negative  aspect  of  Justification,  its  positive 
aspect  is  that  of  a  Divine  act  of  reconciliation  from 
alienation. 

The  Justification  which  begins  in  the  Divine  act 
is  perpetuated  in  the  Divine  attitude  towards  the 
soul,  and  the  pardon  that  is  received,  issues  in  the 
state  of  acceptance  that  is  enjoyed,  a  “  state  of 
salvation.” 


4  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Thus  the  forensic  conception  of  Justification 
involves  a  change  of  position,  in  respect  to  the 
Moral  law  of  duty  and  the  justice  of  God  ;  while 
the  vital  realization  of  Justification  reveals  a  changed 
condition,  in  regard  to  the  Gospel  law  of  character 
and  the  love  of  God. 

There  is  a  sharp  contrast  between  the  points 
of  view  indicated,  yet  they  remain  contrasted  and 
not  opposed,  for  each  is  the  complement  of  the 
other,  they  are  but  two  ways  of  presenting  one  fact, 
and  that  fact  one  pre-eminently  of  personal  relation¬ 
ship. 

The  grounds  of  man's  justification  by  God, 
admits  of  very  simple  statement. 

On  the  one  hand,  no  works  of  ours  can  ever  merit 
either  pardon  or  acceptance  at  God’s  hands,  or 
assure  of  that  salvation  which  includes  both  ;  nor 
can  any  works  of  ours  render  more  complete  the 
pardon  and  the  acceptance  that  is  made  ours  by 
God  in  Justification. 

Hence  our  Justification  is  “  Justification  by 
Faith,”  inasmuch  as  it  is  Justification  by  Christ’s 
sole  merits  only,  and  not  in  any  way  for  our  own 
works  or  deservings. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  same  “  Justification  by 
Faith  ”  is  a  “  Justification  by  Grace,”  since  wrought 
through  Justification  in  Christ,  for  while  our  faith 
is  indeed  a  means  to  grace,  yet  it  is  grace  given 
through  union  with  Christ  which  justifies  and  not 
our  faith. 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  5 

Yet  Faith  (when  faith  is  possible)  has  a  necessary 
office  in  Justification  which  isolates  it  in  that  respect 
from  all  accompanying  virtues  and  graces  ;  for  on 
man’s  part.  Justification  is  “by  faith  only  ”  though 
not  by  faith  “  alone.” 

This  office  of  Faith  wears  two  aspects— 

Faith  is  necessary  to  Justification  on  its  forensic 
side  as  an  Instrument  (we  are  justified  Bid  tti<ttzoj£ 
per  fidem),  since  it  enters  and  realizes  the  unseen 
taking  us  out  of  ourselves  and  leading  us  to  Christ 
the  Justifier — to  claim  all  He  is,  as  ours  ;  and  all 
that  is  promised  us  through  Him. 

In  respect  to  the  vital  aspect  of  Justification, 
Faith  is  evidenced  as  a  necessary  condition  in  us 
(we  are  accounted  righteous  Ik  tt'kjtwq,  propter 
fidem),  bestowed  upon  us  by  the  gift  of  God  ;  a 
condition  which  renders  us  well-pleasing  in  His 
sight,  being  accounted  to  us  for  righteousness,  as 
itself  the  spirit  of  filial  obedience  and  the  pledge 
of  future  sanctification. 

Yet,  although  God  reckons  this  faith  in  us  “  for 
righteousness,”  He  does  not  justify  us  on  account 
of  such  “  righteousness,”  but  on  account  of  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  “  the  Just  One  ”  and  the 
perfect  fulfiller  of  all  the  Justice  of  God,  a  son 
in  Nature,  in  spirit  and  in  work,  Whose  obedience 
is  our  satisfaction. 

There  is  thus  a  clear  distinction  between  Justi¬ 
fication  and  Sanctification  in  respect  to  righteous¬ 
ness. 


6  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Justification  does  not  make  righteous  in  the 
sense  of  “  sanctified  ”  ;  in  Justification  we  are 
“  accounted  ”  righteous,  “  accounted  righteous  ” 
because  of  pardon  and  the  absence  of  guilt,  and 
also  because  of  the  presence  of  faith. 

As  to  the  nature  of  this  faith,  since  justifying 
faith  is  the  faith  that  seeks  and  obtains  Justification, 
it  cannot  be  a  mere  intellectual  credence  either  of  a 
fact  or  of  a  truth,  nor  can  it  be  a  belief,  conviction 
or  feeling,  respecting  our  own  spiritual  state,  welfare, 
or  prospects ;  it  is  indeed  even  more  than  the 
response  of  the  heart  to  the  words,  the  teaching, 
the  spirit  or  the  fife  of  Jesus  :  for  justifying  faith 
is  personal  faith  in  a  personal  Saviour,  faith  in 
Christ  Himself ;  not  the  assurance  that  we  are 
saved  nor  the  confidence  that  we  are  justified,  but 
individual  dependence,  trust  and  reliance  upon  a 
Saviour  WHO  saves — One  “  given  to  die  for  our 
sins  and  to  rise  again  for  our  justification  ” 
(Rom.  iv.  25). 

Since  Justification  is  sought  and  sealed  in 
Baptism  and  assured  and  certified  in  the  fruit  of 
good  works  following  thereon  (i.e.  in  Sanctification), 
a  comforting  assurance  is  normally  consequent  on 
Justification,  when  “  works  ”  certify  that  our 
"  faith  ”  is  truly  a  living  and  therefore  justifying 
faith  “  working  by  love.” 

It  has  been  already  indicated,  that  as  faith  is 
the  “  instrument  ”  of  man  towards  Justification 
— so  Baptism  is  the  instrument  of  God. 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  7 

In  Baptism,  the  “  appeal  ”  made  to  God  receives 
the  “  answer  ”  of  God  (1  St.  Peter  iii.  21). 

On  the  one  hand,  Baptism  is  the  action— the 
operation — the  work  of  faith,  seeking  grace,  which 
is  the  attitude— the  act— the  operation  of  God,  for 
(i.e.  on  behalf  of)  an  individual  soul. 

On  the  other  hand,  Baptism  is  the  token  of 
Justification,  the  application  of  Redemption  to  an 
individual  soul. 

It  is  to  be  concluded,  therefore,  that  we  are 
justified  by  God  in  an  act  of  grace  through  means 
of  grace,  met  on  our  part  by  an  act  of  faith  in  a 
state  of  faith  as  its  sole  and  only  condition. 

The  Justification  which  is  bestowed  by  God’s 
grace  in  Baptism,  is  preserved  by  the  same  grace 
on  perseverance,  and  after  lapse  restored  by  the 
same  grace  in  conversion  or  renewal. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  subject  :  in  Justification 
God  does  not  regard  us  as  being  in  any  sense  “  holy,” 
when  we  are  not  so  in  any  sense,  i.e.  by  an  artificial 
construction. 

In  Justification,  we  are  “  accounted  righteous,” 
that  is  pardoned  and  accepted  for  Christ’s  sake  ;  and 
the  term  “  righteous  ”  when  used  in  connection  with 
Justification  is  not  equivalent  to  "  holy  ”  but 
means  “  rightwise,”  i.e.  in  a  right  relation  to  God. 

This  righteousness  is  not  imputed  but  imparted, 
and  is  a  righteousness  perfect  indeed  in  kind  before 
God,  but  not  perfected  in  degree  in  us  ;  and  it  is 
“  imparted  ”  but  not  “  infused,”  for  in  Justification 


8  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


the  only  infused  righteousness  is  that  present  faith 
which,  as  has  been  seen,  does  not  itself  operate  to 
justify. 

The  whole  conception  of  Justification  becomes 
intelligible  to  us  when  we  remember,  that  in  Justi¬ 
fication  God  never  beholds  us  apart  from  Christ, 
but  always  as  united  with  Christ — united  to  Him, 
made  sharers  in  His  atonement,  not  as  ourselves 
working  atonement,  but  as  receiving  its  benefits. 

Justification  is  by  Faith  as  a  means  ;  not  “  on 
account  of  ”  works,  not  even  “  on  account  of " 
faith,  but  on  account  of  Christ ;  not  on  account  of 
anything  we  have  done  or  can  do,  have  been  or  can 
be,  but  on  account  of  Christ's  merits  and  of  what 
He  is,  and  the  grace  of  God  is  given  through  the 
Means  of  Grace  as  Works  of  God,  not  by  the  means 
of  grace  as  works  of  ours. 

Even  justifying  faith  is  wholly  the  gift  of  God — 
for  Justification  is  not  the  office  of  man  but  of 
God. 

It  has  been  said,  that  Justification  can  be  viewed 
either  as  an  act,  in  response  to  the  act  of  faith  ;  or 
as  a  state,  in  respect  to  the  life  of  faith  ;  so  it  may 
also  be  regarded  as  an  end,  in  view  of  the  outlook 
of  faith  to  final  judgment  and  deliverance. 

Sanctification  follows  on  Justification. 

Justification  is  the  initiation  into  a  state  of  grace, 
the  preparation  for  that  Sanctification  whereby  we 
are  rendered  positively,  not  only  pardoned  and 
accepted,  but  adopted  and  holy. 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  9 

It  is  only  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
and  by  His  graces  infused  in  us  that  we  become 
righteous  in  the  sense  of  “  holy/'  holy  with  "  the 
righteousness  of  God,”  i.e.  by  Sanctification. 

While  Justification  is  essentially  a  change  of 
personal  relation ;  Sanctification  is  a  change  of 
personal  character,  the  outcome  of  a  changed  state 
(sc.  state  of  regeneration),  which  is  itself  consequent 
on  the  former  change  of  personal  relation  and  the 
counterpart  of  its  associated  state  of  reconciliation. 

As  justifying  faith  is  filial  trust,  so  sanctifying 
faith  is  “  faith  working  by  love,”  i.e.  filial  obedience. 

Hence  “  good  works  ”  are  the  works  of  Faith, 
not  "  the  works  of  the  Law.” 

Such  good  works  do  not  merit  salvation,  though 
they  are  the  evidence  of  it ;  necessary  in  "  a  state 
of  salvation,”  not  to  it. 

Salvation  in  the  sense  of  final  deliverance  from 
sin  and  death  and  hell,  is  assured  by  Justification, 
if  it  be  not  forfeited ;  glorification  is  dependent  in 
degree  on  the  good  works  of  the  man. 

St.  Paul  writes  (1  Cor.  iii.  n,  13,  14),  “  Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is 
Christ  Jesus.”  “  If  ”  (in  the  final  judgment)  “  any 
man’s  work  abide  which  he  hath  built  thereupon, 
he  shall  receive  a  reward  ;  if  any  man’s  work  shall 
be  burned  he  shall  suffer  loss,  but  he  himself  shall 
be  saved  ;  yet  so  as  by  fire  ’ ’—purged,  yet  destitute. 

While  good  works,  therefore,  can  never  merit 
salvation,  since  if  we  do  all,  we  are  yet  unprofitable 


10  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


servants  towards  God  ;  nevertheless,  they  may  by 
God’s  mercy  and  covenant-grace,  as  wrought  in 
Christ,  receive  reward,  for  His  infinite  merits  per¬ 
fectly  fulfil  the  imperfect  measure  of  our  obedience. 

There  are  no  counsels  of  perfection  in  the  Gospel 
constituting  “  voluntary  works  besides  over  and 
above  God’s  commandments  ”  of  general  obligation. 

The  so-called  "  evangelical  counsels  ”  of  voluntary 
poverty,  pledged  celibacy  and  “  religious  obedience,” 
are  simply  supposed  special  applications  of  Divine 
commandments  binding  on  all. 

But  “  religious  obedience,”  technically  so-called, 
is  not  inculcated  by  our  Lord  as  a  degree  of  per¬ 
fection  at  all ;  voluntary  poverty  appears  as  a 
condition  of  discipline  imposed  only  when  its  spirit 
was  lacking ;  and  voluntary  celibacy  is  a  gift 
granted  to  those  few  who  can  receive  it,  for  par¬ 
ticular  spheres  of  usefulness. 

Consequently  these  three  “  evangelical  counsels  ” 
are  not  of  the  same  order,  and  further,  since  they 
possess  no  intrinsic  spiritual  value,  but  are  temporal 
expedients  for  conditional  application,  ought  not 
to  be  undertaken  as  pledged  states  or  under  per¬ 
petual  vow,  and  cannot  receive  obligation  by  ratifi¬ 
cation  in  such  a  manner.  Willingness  to  accept 
such  states,  if  it  be  God’s  will  and  so  far  as  it  is  God’s 
will,  is  of  permanent  obligation  to  all  men  ;  their 
practice  at  any  and  every  period  of  life,  directly 
dependent  upon  the  degree  in  which  they  further 
at  that  period  the  attainment  of  moral  goodness 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  n 

and  the  efficient  discharge  of  spiritual  service.  To 
those  who  are  called  to  acceptance  of  such  experi¬ 
ences,  there  is  granted  the  comfort  and  strength 
derived  from  the  following  of  Christ,  in  a  degree, 
in  the  external  mode  of  life,  yet  this  can  never 
constitute  a  higher  degree  of  piety  than  that  which 
is  attained  in  the  imitation  of  His  spirit,  but  serves 
alone,  as  the  peculiar  consolation  of  a  peculiar 
experience. 

Sanctification  is  the  actual  formation  of  a 
Christian  character,  i.e.  its  development  by  and  in 
act,  a  growth  in  ground  cleared  by  Justification 
and  vivified  by  union  with  Christ. 

Sanctification  is  wrought  out,  on  the  one  hand 
by  the  consecration,  the  purification,  the  elevation, 
and  the  development  of  truly  natural  gifts,  powers, 
and  talents,  being  from  this  point  of  view,  the  frui¬ 
tion  of  a  natural  as  distinguished  from  a  depraved 
personality,  the  outcome  of  a  fallen  but  redeemed 
humanity,  hence  the  marked  individuality  of 
Saints. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sanctification  is  wrought 
out  by  the  operation,  the  development,  and  the 
perfecting  of  certain  infused  supernatural  virtues 
or  graces,  namely  the  simplicity  of  Love,  the  recol- 
lectedness  of  Faith,  and  the  detachment  of  Hope — 
from  which  flow  the  likeness  of  a  common  sanctity. 

Sanctification  is  pre-eminently  the  outcome  of 
fellowship  in  that  Holy  Church,  which  is  the  normal 
School  of  Sainthood,  for  no  perfection  of  Christian 


12  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


character  can  either  be  developed  or  exhibited  in 
isolation. 

It  is  no  less  true  that  Sanctification  is  the  ground 
of  the  fellowship  of  the  Saints,  for  the  effective 
source  of  their  mutual  union  is  most  surely  found, 
deeply  experienced  and  fully  enjoyed  in  that  Holy 
Communion  which  they  have  with  each  other  and 
with  their  Lord. 

Those  pre-eminently  God’s  Saints  are  evident, 
for  they  transcend  the  institutional  life  of  the  Church 
without  abandoning  it. 

BAPTISM 

The  grace  of  Baptism  is  not  only  “  justification,” 
not  only  the  state  of  forgiveness  of  sins  shared  by 
redeemed  humanity,  through  the  common  redemp¬ 
tion  made  ours  by  application  of  the  merits  of  an 
eternal  Redeemer  in  an  everlasting  Covenant — it  is 
also  the  individual  incorporation,  reception  and 
association  of  a  personal  soul  into  the  living  member¬ 
ship  of  Christ’s  Body,  into  the  adoption  of  "  sons,” 
and  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  of  present 
provision  and  the  prospect  of  future  possession  that 
inhere  in  a  heavenly  "  birthright.” 

Since  the  forgiveness  of  sin  is  especially  applied 
within  the  Church  and,  moreover,  since  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  indwells  and  energizes  the  Church 
in  a  special  degree  and  special  manners,  Baptism  is 
the  bringing  of  a  soul  within  touch  of  means  of  all 
grace  and  the  peculiar  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Baptism  is  not  to  be  conceived  as  being  the 
occasion  of  the  gift  of  a  new  life,  as  if  by  a  separately 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  13 

imparted  "  germ/’  but  rather  as  bringing  a  gift  of 
newness  of  life  by  union  with  an  all-pervading,  all- 
potent  life,  and  as  characteristically,  the  operation 
of  a  “  new  birth  ”  into  a  sphere  fitted  to  ensure 
viability  and  permanence  to  the  new  life — the  soul 
quickening  into  a  new  life  within  the  body  of  Christ 
Who  is  “  the  Life.” 

As  with  the  Eucharist  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
fix  the  actual  moment  of  Consecration,  although  we 
realize  its  consequent  effect  in  due  course  ;  so  we 
are  no  less  ignorant  regarding  the  inception  of  that 
Divine  action  which  is  most  intimately  correlated 
with  the  great  Sacrament  of  Christian  Initiation 
into  the  gradual  demonstration  of  its  life-giving 
effects. 

In  both  instances,  all  our  knowledge  is  limited 
to  the  assured  confidence  of  a  Promise  of  our  Lord 
and  its  verification  in  spiritual  experience. 

The  importance  of  Baptism  will  always  be  realized 
and  its  inclusion  of  infants  be  preserved  where  there 
is — 

1.  Adequate  appreciation  of  the  free  gift  of  Divine 
Grace,  independent  of  and  prior  to  obligation  or 
worthiness  in  recipient,  although  its  benefits  are 
conditioned. 

2.  Adequate  appreciation  of  the  reality  and  evil 
character  of  “  original  sin,”  as  not  merely  imitation 
but  inheritance,  not  merely  deprivation  but  deprava¬ 
tion,  disease  not  merely  debility,  decay  not  merely 
defect. 

3.  Adequate  estimation  of  magnitude  of  benefits 
which  adhere  to  inheritance  of  Christian  Church  as 
its  proper  and  peculiar  possessions — as  the  educative 
and  informing  Sphere  of  Christian  Life. 

4.  Adequate  conception  of  Christian  Discipleship 


i4  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

as  the  beginning  and  entrance  of  Christian  Schooling, 
Discipline,  and  Sainthood. 

RENEWAL 

Justification  places  man  in  a  changed  position 
before  God — a  position  of  discharge  from  guilt,  and 
in  a  changed  position  towards  Him — a  state  of 
reconciliation.  The  “  conversion  "  of  Scripture  is 
fjuravoia  =  repentance,  which  is  an  act  or  state 
capable  of  repetition  or  frequent  renewal. 

The  changed  state  of  the  man  before  God  wrought 
by  his  justification  must  be  preceded  by,  or  issue  in, 
a  changed  state  in  the  man. 

The  man  must  not  only  be  in  a  new  spiritual 
position,  he  must  have  a  new  spiritual  disposition. 
This  moral  change,  i.e.  this  “  change  of  heart,"  is 
popularly  miscalled  "  regeneration,"  it  is  properly 
termed  "  renewal." 

This  change  is  the  fruit  of  the  operation  of  the 
Spirit,  and  in  itself,  known  to  God  alone  ;  we  judge 
its  presence  by  its  effects  as  voluntarily  made  man's 
own  in  the  changed  attitude  that  issues  from  a 
changed  will. 

What  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  “  conversion  " 
but  more  properly  termed  “  awakening,"  is  simply 
the  consciousness  of  a  changed  disposition  towards 
God,  and  is  not  essential,  though  most  earnestly  to 
be  sought. 

So-called  “  sensible  conversion  "  is  simply  that 
sharply  evidenced  awakening  which  marks  the 
crisis,  and  the  clearly  recognized  decision  which 
marks  the  turning  point,  in  a  life  of  spiritual  un¬ 
consciousness,  accumulated  carelessness  or  persistent 
misdoing — when  by  the  grace  of  God,  the  man  is 


JUSTIFICATION  AND  SANCTIFICATION  15 

brought  to  strive  and  concur  with  the  strivings  and 
leadings  of  the  Spirit. 

The  essential  action  of  God  is  always  wrought 
freely  ;  but  chiefly  it  would  seem,  in  response  to 
prayer,  personal  or  intercessory,  and  to  the  faithful 
use  of  the  means  of  grace  ;  working  most  often  as 
an  insensible  growth,  of  which  man  only  becomes 
conscious,  as  his  attitude  becomes  evidently  disposed 
towards  spiritual  things,  as  he  deliberately  begins 
to  set  his  mind  and  life  towards  God,  by  the  power 
of  grace  without  and  within  ;  and  seeks  more  and 
more  that  his  will  may  be  perfectly  confirmed  in 
the  surrender  to  God  that  he  has  made  by  it. 


ESSAY  II 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH 

A  sense  of  the  vital  importance  of  personal  and 
experimental  religion,  often  leads  to  a  certain 
jealousy  of  the  claims  of  corporate  and  institutional 
Christianity.  Yet  both  are  necessary  to  the  full  pre¬ 
sentation  of  the  truth  in  its  completeness  and  its 
power. 

If  the  necessities  of  the  case  are  to  receive  due 
expression  and  permanent  satisfaction,  the  race, 
as  well  as  the  soul,  must  be  placed  in  adequate 
relation  to  its  Divine  object  and  source. 

In  Christianity  this  requirement  is  perfectly 
fulfilled. 

Christianity  is  a  social  Gospel ;  but,  since  ad¬ 
dressed  to  fallen  man  in  a  sinful  world,  a  Gospel 
that  must  needs  approach  its  greatest  aim — the 
regeneration  of  Humanity  to  the  glory  of  God, 
from  the  side  of  the  Individual. 

The  Church  as  an  Institution  exists  for  the  sake 
of  the  individual,  and  is  addressed  to  the  needs  of 
each  soul ;  while  the  Church  as  a  Corporation 
reveals  the  end  for  which  individual  piety  exists, 
and  the  sphere  in  which  it  is  fulfilled. 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH 


*7 

The  faith  held,  the  ministry  enjoyed,  the  sacra¬ 
ments  observed,  are  all  means  to  a  yet  greater  end— 
to  make  men  and  women  individually  better, 
more  personally  “  Christian  ”  ;  it  is  the  work  of 
the  Church  to  draw  men  nearer  Christ  and  to  make 
men  more  like  Him,  building  up  those  that  believe, 
and  converting  those  that  believe  not. 

The  Church’s  origin  is  by  a  Divine  institution, 
and  not  a  human  arrangement. 

The  Church  is  no  mere  outcome  of  the  natural 
instinct  of  association  ;  no  expedient  after-thought, 
for  the  promotion  of  Christian  progress  in  devout 
living  and  spiritual  fellowship  and  godly  knowledge. 

Nor  can  the  Church  be  recognized  as  existing 
in  an  ideal  unity  of  any  number  of  faithful  individual 
believers,  isolated  it  may  be  in  profession  and 
practice. 

The  Church  exists  by  the  institution  and  com-  * 
mission  of  Christ  Himself,  Who  ordained  visible 
means  of  admission  and  continuance  therein  ;  and 
gave  to  it  the  abiding  sanction  of  His  own  authority 
over  its  order,  its  constitutions  and  its  ministry. 

The  Church  therefore  exists  as  a  visible  fellow¬ 
ship,  into  which  entrance  is  ministered  by  Baptism  ; 
in  which,  spiritual  life  is  strengthened  and  refreshed 
by  Holy  Communion  ;  and  by  which  is  applied  the 
spiritual  succours  of  Confirmation  and  Absolution ; 
possessing  a  definite  Faith  as  the  condition  of  mem¬ 
bership  and  communion ;  administering  the  dis¬ 
cipline  of  an  oversight  which  regulates  alike  the 

c 


18  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


conduct  of  Character  and  Worship  ;  and  provided 
with  an  ordered  constitution  of  its  Ministry  and 
Means  of  Grace. 

According  to  the  only  presentation  of  it  pos¬ 
sessed  in  fact ,  the  Church  exists  as  a  visible  organiza¬ 
tion  including  both  good  and  bad ;  its  history 
stained  with  human  frailty,  imperfection,  and  sin  ; 
its  aims  thwarted  and  perverted  by  folly  and  by 
ignorance;  yet  an  organization  ever  manifesting 
more  or  less  prominently  in  its  history,  a  common 
ministry,  sacraments,  and  creed ;  ever  claiming 
universality  of  Faith,  Mission,  and  Obedience  ;  ever 
presenting  the  standard  of  a  perfect  holiness  and 
singular  efforts  after  it  ;  apostolic  in  origin,  in 
spirit,  and  in  fellowship  of  Discipline  and  Worship. 

The  Church,  therefore,  is  “  holy,”  because  the 
spirit  of  holiness  dwells  in  it,  supplying  the  call, 
the  inspiration,  and  the  means  to  holiness  ;  yet  the 
Church  is  not  pure,  its  holy  ones  are  mixed  with 
those  careless  of  holiness  and  unholy. 

This  is  a  trial  to  religious  souls  ;  they  want 
the  Church  to  be  like  Heaven  where  all  are  good. 

Their  consolation  is  to  be  found  in  that  “  Com¬ 
munion  of  Saints,”  which  is  both  narrower  and 
wider  than  the  Church  ;  known  in  extent  alone  by 
God  but  enjoyed  by  all  united  in  “  The  Love  of  God, 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  fellowship 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.”  The  Communion  of  Saints 
is  also  the  comfort  of  the  mourner,  the  lonely,  and 
the  depressed,  and  provides  the  incitement  to 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH  19 

warfare,  the  hope  of  rest  and  the  assurance  of 
triumph,  as  it  exhibits  Holiness  sought,  deepened 
and  gained. 

The  Church  is  obviously  a  visible  society,  by  reason 
of  the  very  existence  and  character  of  its  Divinely 
appointed  Sacraments. 

It  is  no  less  evidently  so  to  thought,  as  The  " 
Body  of  Christ/' 

All  the  sources  which  we  possess  from  which  to 
gather  the  idea  of  “  a  body,"  whether  spiritual  or 
natural,  necessitate  our  conceiving  of  it,  as  either 
permanently  visible  or  as  possessing  the  capacity  for 
visible  manifestation. 

The  whole  natural  animal  creation  exhibits 
constant  visibility  of  body  ;  the  mysterious  appear¬ 
ings  of  the  Resurrection-body  of  the  Lord  seem  to 
reveal  the  capacity  for  visibility  rather  than  its 
necessity. 

Both  facts  have  weighty  bearing  on  the  thought 
of  the  Church  visible.  ^ 

On  the  one  hand,  to  speak  of  the  Church  on 
earth  as  an  “  invisible  Church,"  is  to  empty  the 
name  of  its  especial  and  peculiar  significance,  sub¬ 
stituting  for  it,  either  a  partial  conception  of  the 
“  communion  of  saints  "  ;  or  still  more  probably, 
an  hypothetical  fellowship  of  the  “  Elect  "  in  the 
Calvinistic  sense,  which,  whatever  else  it  might  be, 
could  never  represent  the  Church  either  of  History 
or  of  the  New  Testament  Epistles  and  Records. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Church  is  truly  invisible, 


20  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


even  in  its  notes,  in  so  far  as  they  are  pre-eminently 
moral  or  the  evidence  of  intrinsic  spiritual  principles. 

In  their  most  conclusively  convincing  aspect, 
the  Notes  of  the  Church  are  marked  by  a  profound 
inwardness,  in  common  with  the  whole  being  of 
that  Church  which  they  serve  to  identify ;  for  we 
believe  in  the  Church  itself,  in  those  respects  in  which 
they  reveal  it — that  is  to  say,  as  a  supernatural 
society  enshrined  under  earthly  conditions. 

In  other  words,  the  Church  is  invisible,  so  far 
as  it  is  supernatural ;  though  its  evidences  are  not, 
but  are  manifest  in  that  visible  society  which  is  the 
outward  side  and  setting  of  a  spiritual  realm  “  not 
of  this  world.” 

In  this  sense,  the  Church  of  God,  hke  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  is  “  within  you,”  “  amongst  you  ”  ;  and  its 
existence  only  realized  when  the  full  meaning  of 
its  Notes  is  revealed  to  an  eye  of  faith. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  endeavour  to  obtain  such 
notes  of  the  Church  as  shall  provide  us  with  an 
exclusive  definition  of  its  boundaries.  “  Notes 
of  the  Church  ”  are  to  be  viewed  as  marks  whereby 
it  is  prominently  evidenced  and  made  known — 
characteristics  which  it  is  never  without,  rather 
than  essentials  without  which  it  cannot  exist — for 
identification,  not  for  isolation ;  so  that  we  may 
easily  perceive  the  existence  and  realize  the  character 
of  the  Church  as  a  society — as  a  Divine  society. 

The  writers  of  the  Reformation  period,  for 
instance,  on  both  sides,  spent  much  useless  labour 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH  21 


in  the  depiction  of  the  notes  of  the  Church  in  such 
a  manner  as  either  resulted  in  vague  generalities, 
which  exclude  by  implication  much  most  marked  in 
the  historic  character  and  constitution  of  the 
Church,  or  else  such  as  made  the  assumed  task  of 
isolation  easier  by  unwarranted  narrowing  down 
(with  or  without  accretions  at  the  same  time)  of 
its  permanent  characteristics. 

It  is  best  to  be  content  with  the  statement, 
that  the  Creeds  designate  the  Church,  One,  Holy, 
Catholic,  and  Apostolic  ;  because  it  is  a  Society 
exhibiting  in  manifold  ways  and  unique  degree, 
unity,  sanctity,  universality,  and  apostolicity. 

It  is  especially  necessary  to  beware  of  making 
the  term  “  Catholic/ ’  a  term  of  exclusion  rather  than 
of  inclusion.  It  is,  in  its  original  idea,  essentially 
comprehensive.  Following  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem, 
it  may  be  said  : — the  Church  is  Catholic,  because 
everywhere  teaching  the  whole  truth,  making 
spiritual  provision  for  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
men,  and  filled  with  all  sorts  of  spiritual  graces  and 
gifts. 

So  also,  the  old  saying  “  salvation  is  of  the 
Church  ”  must  not  be  made  to  teach  exclusive 
salvation  within  the  Church,  nor  be  interpreted  as 
if  equivalent  to  the  assertion  of  “  no  salvation 
outside  the  Church/’ 

It  declares  the  fact  that  by  a  Divine  Covenant, 
salvation  is  as  a  "  state,”  the  peculiar  Birthright 
of  the  Church,  and  assures  that  the  most  perfect 


22  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


“  salvation  ”  possible  is  attainable  in  the  Church, 
by  a  progressive  growth  therein. 

To  deny  its  possible  attainment  outside  can  be 
of  no  vital  concern  to  us,  and,  therefore,  no  right 
of  ours. 

Many  good  and  devout  men  who  are  not  members 
of  the  Church  as  alone  we  know  it,  are  yet  evidently 
sharers  in  “  the  communion  of  saints  ”  of  “  the 
Kingdom  of  God.” 

It  is  most  important  to  remember  that  the 
“  Church  ”  corresponds  to  the  “  Kingdom  of  God,” 
not  extensively  but  intensively — not  constituting 
its  exclusive  or  exhaustive  range,  but  affording 
its  most  evident  and  highest  manifestation  on 
earth. 

^  Nevertheless,  it  remains  true  that  a  "  Christian  ” 
is  normally  defined  as  one  who  belongs  to  Christ 
in  virtue  of  incorporation  into  His  Body  by  Christian 
Baptism  ;  the  Church  being,  of  necessity,  entered 
by  a  sacramental  rite,  for  it  is  itself  a  society  sacra¬ 
mental  in  character,  because  a  visible  organization, 
£  animated  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Church  is  the  Body  of  Christ  informed  by 
the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

As  such,  the  Church  is  constituted  the  Organ 
on  earth  of  the  risen  life  of  Christ  in  glory,  con¬ 
tinuing  the  Work  of  an  ascended  Lord — the  realm 
of  operation  of  a  supernatural  life. 

The  Church  as  "  the  Body  of  Christ  ”  may  be 
regarded  from  three  distinct  standpoints  that  may 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH  23 


be  termed  without  irreverence,  the  Morphological, 
the  Physiological,  and  the  Biological. 

The  Church  as  a  body  is  an  Organization  : — a 
whole,  capable  of  increase,  possessing  a  definite 
structure,  made  up  of  diverse  parts,  of  which  each 
has  its  proper  development,  yet  such  that  the  growth 
of  each  separate  member  is  ruled  and  subject  to 
the  perfection  of  the  whole. 

The  bounds  of  this  great  System  stand  forth 
clearly,  distinctly,  unmistakably,  as  the  outlines 
of  “  a  city  set  upon  a  hill  ”  and  are  defined  in  “  One 
Baptism,”  “  In  the  Name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,”  “  unto  the  remis¬ 
sion  of  sins.”  The  breadth  of  range  within  these 
boundaries  of  the  Church’s  constitution  is  the 
pledge  of  the  plasticity  of  the  Church,  as  it  is  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  every  age  and  confined  to  the  spirit 
of  none,  under  the  moulding  control  of  that  indwelling 
life  which  is  at  once  the  Cause  and  regulator  of  its 
growth.  It  is  this  which  makes  the  history  of  the 
Church,  the  history  of  the  unfailing  providence  of 
God. 

But  the  Church  as  a  body  not  only  exists 
and  grows,  it  also  works ,  and  as  a  centre  of  work 
and  activity,  it  is  an  Economy.  By  a  manifold 
development  and  adjustment  of  specialized  function 
towards  a  common  end,  and  an  entire  interdepend¬ 
ence  in  a  common  aim,  the  Church  is  constituted 
the  fitting  instrument  of  fullest  activity  towards 
God  and  man. 


24  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  economy  of  the  Church  discharges  a  twofold 
work  of  ministry  to  the  Glory  of  God  and  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  man,  by  a  worship  and  a  service,  that  are 
alike  sacrifice.  Thus,  the  efficiency  of  the  Catholic 
Church  is  established  under  the  inspiring  direction 
of  the  indwelling  life,  and  is  enriched  by  the  free 
fruition  of  a  unity  exhibited  in  the  triple  theological 
Virtues  of  Faith  and  Hope  and  Love  possessed. 

But  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  is  more  than  either 
an  organization  or  an  economy  ;  it  is  an  Organism, 
informed  by  one  life,  and  that  life,  the  Life  of  Christ 
our  Lord. 

The  Body  of  Christ  indwelt  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
— this  is  at  once  the  most  complete  and  crucial  pre¬ 
sentation  of  what  the  Church  is  :  for  the  indwelling 
life  fixes  Type,  and  thus  ensures  the  stability  of  that 
“  New  Creation  ”  against  which  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  never  prevail. 

The  Church's  source,  desire  and  satisfaction  is 
Christ  ;  and  holding  fast  the  Head  she  finds  her 
most  Divine  and  Godlike  Unity  in  Him — for  Christ 
is  the  true  Unity  of  God  and  man. 

Nothing  unites  the  Church  so  closely,  and  by 
nothing  is  its  Unity  so  closely  realized,  as  in  its 
own  relation  and  the  personal  relation  of  each 
of  all  its  members  in  particular,  to  that  Divine 
Unity  Which  is  the  object  of  its  being — one  God, 
known  as  Father,  Saviour,  and  Sanctifier. 

The  Church  is  marked  by  the  highest  kind  of 
Unity  as  “  a  state,"  for  it  is  the  only  perfectly 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH  25 

adjusted  expression  of  man's  freedom  and  man’s 
dependence  in  his  moral  and  spiritual  position  and 
relations  ■  but  it  is  yet  more  characterized  by  a 
Unity  of  Life,  that  exhibits  the  deepest  (because  the 
most  Divine)  grounds  of  human  Kinship. 

Viewed  in  its  practical  operation,  the  Church 
presents  the  spectacle  of  a  Fellowship  of  Redeemed 
humanity — the  Family  of  God,  a  leaven  destined  to 
renew  the  world  by  its  labours  and  presence  in  it. 

It  affords,  at  the  same  time,  an  ensample  of  Re¬ 
stored  humanity,— which  provides  to  those  within 
a  School  of  Holiness,  the  Home  of  Discipline  and 
Worship ;  and  displays  to  those  without,  the 
Evidence  of  the  unseen  Kingdom  of  God,  in  the 
existence  of  a  "  chosen  people  ”  whose  privileges 
and  obligations  witness  to  God’s  universal  Kingdom 
over  all. 

The  two  chief  treasures  the  Church  has  to  offer 
to  the  matured  Christian,  already  trained  in  the 
Creed,  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Command¬ 
ments — and  faithful  in  the  acceptance  of  these — 
are  the  Holy  Bible  and  the  Holy  Communion. 

It  is,  therefore,  essential  that  absolutely  free 
access  to  these  should  be  always  jealously  guarded 
and  scrupulously  preserved. 

The  rest  of  the  Church’s  Institutional  System 
may  then  be  rightly  and  frankly  accepted,  as 
affording  an  invaluable  historic  environment  for 
development  in  Christian  character. 

Beyond  this,  the  immediate  concern  of  the 


26  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Individual  ceases  and  the  interests  of  the  Corporate 
life  begin. 

But  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  how 
large  a  place  those  interests  of  the  Corporate  life 
have  in  vital  religion. 

It  is  even  the  case  that  a  quickened  sense  of  the 
importance  of  the  corporate  life  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  duty  of  sharing  to  the  utmost  in  its  missionary 
activities  conceived  in  their  widest  possible  range 
is  needed  to  enforce  that  sense  of  sin  and  grace 
which  lies  at  the  root  of  personal  religion,  since  it 
is  necessary  to  realize  that  omission  is  sin  as  well 
as  commission,  and  what,  too,  the  actual  power  of 
grace  can  do. 

These  obligations  of  membership  are  thus  bene¬ 
ficial  because  obligations  to  Christ,  not  to  the 
Church,  which  they  yet  build  up  through  HIM, 
“  from  Whom  all  the  body  fitly  framed  and  knit 
together  through  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  working  in  due  measure  of  each 
several  part,  maketh  the  increase  of  the  body  unto 
the  building  up  of  itself  in  love  ”  (Eph.  iv.  16). 

PARTIES 

Every  man  is  born  with  a  temperamental  aptitude 
for  the  ready  recognition  of  specific  aspects  of  the 
Faith  ;  and  this  natural  bent  is  often  confirmed  by  the 
fostering  of  training,  surroundings,  and  the  selective 
action  of  the  will.  This  bias  of  appreciation  when 
organized,  issues  in  the  formation  of  Parties,  each 
exhibiting  a  tendency  to  depreciate  the  value  of 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  CHURCH  27 


any  other  point  of  view  than  its  own  ;  and  the 
exaggeration  of  self-importance,  in  such  parties 
when  established,  to  the  existence  of  Divisions — - 
while  reaction  from  this  result  often  engenders  a 
general  attitude  either  of  indifference  or  scepticism — 
minimizing  the  importance  of  truth  held  or  attained  ; 
in  the  one  instance  forgetful  that  every  endeavour 
ought  to  be  made  definitely  to  apprehend  truth,  and 
to  maintain  firmly  that  which  is  comprehended  as 
positive  truth,  confident  that  Truth  is  great  and 
will  prevail ;  and,  in  the  other,  failing  to  realize 
that  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  while  it  is 
often  necessary  to  make  a  critical  estimate  in  order 
to  attain  a  practical  judgment,  it  is  never  desirable 
to  cultivate  or  maintain  a  critical  attitude  as  the 
state  of  settled  disposition. 

Conviction  is  often  brought  home  to  ourselves, 
as  well  as  others,  not  by  controversy  but  by  life. 

The  true  way  to  defend  the  Faith  is  to  confess 
it ;  the  true  way  to  commend  the  Faith  is  to 
practice  it. 

The  bond  of  love  towards  God  and  man,  truth 
and  holiness,  is  the  best  antidote  and  preservative 
against  the  solvent  of  credulity  or  unbelief. 

It  is  always  necessary  to  remember  that  a 
Catholic  Church  is  preferable  to  an  uncatholic  party  : 
a  “  party  ”  can  be  but  a  part,  and  the  whole  is  ever 
greater  than  its  part. 

So  also  the  proportion  of  the  Faith  is  alone 
maintained,  when  based  upon  the  recorded  revelation 
of  a  manifested  divine  life,  and  guarded  by  the 
history  of  the  World,  the  Church,  the  Soul. 

The  types  of  Christian  Standpoint,  exhibited  in 
the  recognition  of  faith,  may  be  classified  roughly 
under  three  heads — 


28  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


1.  The  Low. 

This  realizes  strongly  the  intimacy  and  freedom 
of  grace.  Its  method  is  to  value  experimental 
experience  of  feeling,  laying  stress  upon  the  beginning 
of  salvation  and  regarding  this  life  as  a  prelude  to 
the  life  to  come  which  gains  its  characteristic  im¬ 
portance  from  the  opportunity  afforded  for  spiritual 
decision.  Its  danger  is  a  familiar  individualism  of 
religion. 

2.  The  Broad. 

This  realizes  strongly  the  benignity  and  univer¬ 
sality  of  spirit  manifest  in  the  Gospel.  Its  method 
is  to  value  philosophical  insight  of  thought ;  laying 
stress  upon  the  conduct  of  life  and  regarding  this 
life  as  an  education  for  the  life  to  come  which  gains 
its  characteristic  importance  from  the  opportunity 
afforded  for  spiritual  distinction.  Its  danger  is  a 
subjective  idealism  of  religion. 

3.  The  High. 

This  realizes  strongly  the  dignity  and  responsi¬ 
bility  of  man’s  position  before  God.  Its  method  is 
to  value  Humility  and  Obedience  of  Will,  laying 
stress  upon  the  Means  of  Grace  and  regarding  this 
life  as  a  probation  for  the  life  to  come  which  gains 
its  characteristic  importance  from  the  opportunity 
afforded  for  spiritual  growth.  Its  danger  is  mystical 
legalism. 


ESSAY  III 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Consideration  of  the  Church's  Authority  is  best 
approached  mindful  of  the  fundamental  exhibition 
of  authority  presented  in  the  relation  of  parent  and 
child. 

The  authority  of  a  parent  over  a  child  is 
obviously  twofold ;  on  the  one  hand,  there  is  the 
provisional  authority  which  trains,  disciplines  and 
controls  (a  regulative  authority)  ;  on  the  other, 
the  permanent  authority  of  a  moral  relationship 
(absolute  authority). 

The  former  is  a  means  to  moral  ends  ;  the  latter 
is  the  expression  of  a  moral  end  itself. 

The  essential  authority  of  the  Church  is  not 
absolute  but  conditioned  :  it  is  the  authority  of 
Historic  Witness,  verified  by  the  authority  of  the 
Written  Word ;  for  the  sole  authority  which  is 
absolute,  is  that  of  God  as  revealed  in  His  incarnate 
Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  ;  to  Whom  the  Church 
testifies  and  all  Scriptures  witness. 

The  exercise  of  this  authority  by  the  Church  is 
not  coercive,  deterrent,  or  concentrative ;  but 
persuasive,  winning,  pervasive  :  for  it  is  the  spiritual 


30  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


authority  of  influence,  and  not  merely  an  administra¬ 
tive  authority  of  power. 

The  authority  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  Faith, 
is  accordingly  declaratory ;  declaring  that  which 
it  has  received  “  from  the  beginning  ”  ;  and  thus, 
by  exclusion  condemning  novelties  of  doctrine. 

The  Church  is  not  a  judge  between  opposite 
opinions,  nor  can  it  by  legislation  determine  new 
articles  “  of  faith  ”  ;  it  is  the  guardian  of  the  Truth, 
which  it  enunciates  on  the  unbroken  testimony  of 
a  chain  of  historical  witness  ;  and  the  declarations 
it  makes  of  this  witness  are  checked,  preserved 
constant  and  confirmed  by  Holy  Writ. 

Hence  Historic  Evidence  witnesses  what  was  the 
Belief  of  the  Church  at  any  given  time  and  up  to  that 
given  time  ;  the  “  agreeableness  ”  of  Scripture  to 
such  a  belief,  alone  proves  whether  that  belief  was 
indeed  “  The  Faith  ”  ;  and  both  combined,  lead  to 
a  verification  of  the  Truth. 

Even  the  decrees  of  Councils  are  affirmations, 
not  expositions  of  the  Faith ;  safeguards,  rather 
than  sources  of  positive  teaching  ;  the  Scripture 
is  the  source  of  positive  teaching,  and  its  essential 
truths  are  enshrined  in  the  Creed. 

It  is,  therefore,  obvious,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  that  there  is  no  binding  authority  of  necessary 
truth,  either  in  the  decisions  of  General  Councils,  or 
the  general  consent  of  the  Church. 

Yet  both  are  in  the  highest  degree  influential 
upon  the  faith  of  individuals  ;  and  moreover  the 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  31 


authority  of  General  Councils,  based  upon  Scripture 
and  accepted  by  general  consent,  is  the  highest 
affirmative,  definitive  and  regulative  authority 
possessed  by  the  Church  for  the  guidance  of  its 
teachers  and  the  instruction  of  its  members. 

The  two  great  Credal  Dogmas  of  the  Church  are 
those  concerning  the  Trinity  and  the  Incarnation  ; 
these  the  Church  emphatically  proclaims  as  received 
from  the  beginning,  and  declares  them  alone  neces¬ 
sary  to  that  “  everlasting  salvation  ”  which  is  the 
“  birth-right  ”  of  all  its  members. 

Conclusions  and  consequences  by  extension 
from  these  two  fundamental  “  Christian  ”  dogmas, 
have  the  limited  authority  consequent  on  general 
acceptance  or  assent— -that  is  to  say,  they  have  a 
tempering  influence  on  the  doctrinal  beliefs  and  the 
religious  tenets  of  individuals. 

Deviations  in  pious  opinion  are  checked  and 
rectified  by  the  atmosphere  of  undefined  tradition 
in  which  they  breathe  ;  error  being,  at  once,  unstable 
and  transitory  by  its  very  nature,  especially  in  a 
sphere  wherein  the  eternal  Spirit  of  Truth  abides, 
broods,  and  operates. 

The  greatest  danger  of  the  Church  is  over¬ 
definition,  the  making  of  unessentials,  as  if  “  de  fide/' 

The  ordering  of  God’s  Church  manifests  His 
providential  guidance  in  this,  that  the  two  cardinal 
dogmas  being  enunciated,  History  has  prevented 
the  accumulation  of  a  burden  of  subordinate  authori¬ 
tative  definition. 


32  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  exercise  of  authority  by  the  Church  in  laying 
down  the  conditions  of  visible  fellowship  with  itself 
is  final ;  yet  if  such  conditions  violate  Scripture,  the 
consequences  of  their  imposition  cannot  exclude 
from  the  Communion  of  Saints,  even  though  they 
may  suspend  its  evidence. 

Moreover,  the  Church  cannot  rightly  impose 
aught,  as  a  condition  of  membership,  in  respect  to 
the  substance  of  faith,  save  its  minimum,  implicitly 
contained  in  the  Baptismal  Formula  of  Admission 
and  Initiation. 

But  the  Church  naturally  associates  the  full 
confession  of  the  Nicene  Creed  with  the  Rite  of 
Communion ;  and  may  impose  still  more  detailed 
standards  of  doctrine  as  conditions  of  its  sanction 
upon  the  teacher. 

The  primary  aim  of  Church  authority  in  general, 
and  of  the  Creeds  in  particular,  in  respect  to  matters 
of  faith,  is  : — to  preserve  intact  the  unity  of  the 
whole  faith  and  to  maintain  the  proportion  of  a 
complete  Faith,  for  purposes  of  practical  piety  and 
religious  understanding. 

The  Church  has,  besides,  authority  in  respect 
to  Rites  and  Ceremonies,  binding  upon  the  individual 
who  is  called  upon  to  perform  them,  but  which  must 
not  be  “  repugnant  ”  to  Scripture. 

In  the  divided  state  of  Christendom,  every 
coherent  portion  of  the  Church  has  of  necessity  to 
settle  regulatively  questions  which  arise  in  respect 
to  order,  administration  and  discipline. 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  33 


The  consentient,  continuous  and  ancient  Witness 
of  the  Church  is  bound  to  exercise  the  most  pro¬ 
found  influence  upon  the  individual  inquirer  ;  on 
the  one  hand,  by  affording  a  test  whether  a  doctrine 
held,  is  likely  to  be  true,  thus  impressing  the 
personal  judgment  into  a  sense  of  grave  responsibility 
for  its  decision  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
degree  by  which  conclusions  approved  as  true  on 
independent  grounds  are  substantiated,  encourag¬ 
ing  increased  confidence  that  by  such  investigations 
a  right  solution  will  be  attained  of  the  problems 
with  which  they  are  concerned. 

In  ordinary,  it  is  legitimate,  and  indeed  inevitable, 
for  the  majority  of  persons,  as  well  as  unavoidable, 
on  most  points,  with  any  person,  to  leave  the 
responsibility  for  truth  of  detail  on  the  teaching  body ; 
but  the  teachers  are  required  to  verify  what  they 
teach,  that  is  to  say,  to  verify  both  what  the  “  de¬ 
posit  ”  committed  to  the  Church,  as  a  teaching  body, 
is ;  and  also  to  determine  what  may  be  arrived  at 
by  legitimate  scientific  treatment  and  philosophical 
expansion  of  the  received  essential  basis  of  doctrine, 
at  the  same  time  so  distinguishing  such  results, 
inferences  and  deductions,  that  they  may  not  be 
regarded  as  if  "  de  fide."  Towards  the  same  end, 
the  right  of  personal  inquiry  on  the  part  of  its  indi¬ 
vidual  members  is  not  only  respected  by  the  Church, 
but  encouraged  to  the  fullest  extent  possible  in  each 
case  ;  and  personal  judgment  on  any  point  that 
becomes  insistent  in  personal  religious  experience 

D 


34  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

or  crucial  to  personal  spiritual  well-being  becomes 
an  imperative  duty,  for  which  each  individual  must 
acknowledge  final  responsibility  before  conscience. 

Since  “  the  Church  to  teach,  the  Bible  to  prove  ” 
expresses  the  relation  between  the  dual  authority 
in  matters  of  faith  [cf.  Articles  6  and  8),  it  is  necessary 
to  determine  the  nature  of  that  “  proof,’ ’  which  is 
to  be  sought,  expected,  and  accepted  from  the 
Scriptures,  as  the  decisive  criterion  of  ecclesiastical 
doctrine.  “  Proof  ”  in  its  ideal  intellectual  relations 
means  absolute  certainty,  requiring  an  infallible 
guide  ;  in  its  moral  relations  “  proof  ”  is  a  reason¬ 
able  assurance  commending  itself  to  the  conscience, 
and  requiring  a  sufficient  guide  ;  but  “  proof  ”  in 
the  spiritual  relations  of  life  is  a  reasonable  assurance 
of  such  a  kind  as  permitting  and  submitting  to  the 
exercise  of  Faith  affords  the  ultimate  conviction  of 
certainty. 

It  is  only  when  Faith  is  reduced  to  intellectual 
assent  that  an  infallible  assurance  of  the  truth  of 
tenets  held  can  be  regarded  as  necessary ;  if  Faith 
is  no  less  the  spiritual  energy  of  a  moral  disposition 
towards  God,  then  such  an  infallibility  is  obviously 
either  inadequate  or  unnecessary. 

The  supposition  of  “  infallibility,”  as  in  some 
way  pertaining  to  the  Church,  is  not  peculiar  to 
Roman  Catholic  theologians  ;  but  has  never  been 
claimed  by  the  Church. 

Spiritual  "  infallibility  ”  is  preservation  from 
all  error,  either  of  morals  or  faith. 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  35 


In  the  former  sense,  it  has  never  been  expected,  in 
man’s  known  frailty  ;  but  the  latter  has  seemed  more 
probable  from  its  dwelling  in  a  more  abstract  sphere. 

Yet,  there  have  been  times  when  it  has  been 
not  merely  “  Athanasius  contra  mundum,”  but  even 
“  Athanasius  contra  ecclesiam.” 

To  acknowledge,  thankfully,  that  the  universal 
Church  has  hitherto  been  kept  from  falling  into 
dogmatic  error,  is  far  different  from  attributing 
to  it,  as  a  possession,  that  which  has  been  due  to 
God’s  overruling  Providence. 

To  believe  that  the  Church  will  never  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  fall  into  permanent  error  in  the  essentials 
of  faith  or  morals,  is  fully  justified  by  the  promise, 
“  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her  ”  ;  but 
that  is  not  to  establish  the  freedom  of  the  Church 
at  any  one  time,  from  even  general  corruption  in 
doctrine  or  practice ;  although  it  may  be  well 
believed  that  our  Lord’s  crowning  assurance,  “  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  always,”  makes  certain  that  there 
will  always  abide  a  seed  of  recovery  and  a  remnant 
of  faithful  ones,  even  in  the  worst  degradations  the 
Church  may  suffer. 

Yet  all  is  to  be  ascribed  to  God,  and  to  His  pro¬ 
vidential  Government ;  not  to  an}7  attribute  proper 
to  the  Church,  as  the  Church. 

We  believe  that  the  Divine  guidance  will  surely, 
if  slowly,  manifest  its  influence  as  time  flows  on, 
never  permitting  infallible  judgment,  but  ever 
witnessing  with  increased  assurance  to  the  truth. 


36  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

^  Two  forms  of  revolt  are  evidently  possible 
against  the  twofold  authority  of  the  Church. 

Heresy  is  the  violation  of  the  unity  of  Christian 
Dogma  :  Schism  is  the  violation  of  the  unity  of 
^  Christian  Fellowship. 

In  the  case  of  either,  there  must  always  be  actual 
wilfulness,  if  there  is  to  be  personal  guilt ;  and  that 
guilt  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  actual 
wilfulness  and  the  consciousness  of  it. 

The  spiritual  consequences  of  revolt  to  the 
Individual  are  therefore  determined  by  the  Motive 
for  it,  and  the  estimation  of  Heresy  and  Schism  as 
"  sin  ”  can  alone  be  determined  and  pronounced 
from  the  Judgment-seat  of  Christ. 

The  Church  can  only  deal  with  heresy  and  schism 
by  a  count ervailing  excitation  of  the  Faith  or  Charity 
violated ;  marking  the  consequent  restriction  by 
disciplinary  diminution  or  cessation  of  fellowship,  as 
living  substance  contracts  when  stimulated. 

There  ought  to  be  no  need  of  corporate  discipline 
in  the  Church,  only  of  extrusion  or  exclusion  from 
it.  Discipline  in  the  Church  is  to  be  provided  by 
the  public  opinion  of  the  Church  ;  this,  in  turn, 
arising  from  a  sense  of  the  obligations  of  membership 
on  each  individual  conscience,  with  practical  expres¬ 
sion  of  approval  or  disapproval  in  the  instinctive 
(and  for  the  most  part  unconscious)  choice  and 
exercise  of  fellowship. 

The  Church  possesses  no  control  over  the  con¬ 
science,  mind,  or  spiritual  life  of  its  members,  save 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  37 


by  consent ;  and  even  then,  can  only  exercise  that 
control  indirectly — by  appeal,  suggestion,  or  influence ; 
for  no  right  of  access  exists  against  the  inviolable 
integrity  of  human  personality. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  great  body  of  the  Church's 
Doctrine  receives  its  chief  value  as  a  series  of  pro¬ 
tective  outworks  around  that  essential  nucleus 
of  Christian  Knowledge  which  it  at  once  enshrines, 
elucidates  and  protects  from  shock ;  just  as  the 
Church's  Institutional  System  presents  to  the  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  Christian  Privilege,  the  same  “  Grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Love  of  God,  and  Fellowship  of 
the  Holy  Ghost." 


DOGMA 

The  popular  estimation  of  Dogma. 

Many  profess  to  accept  “  doctrine  "  while  they 
reject  “  dogma."  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious  ; 
even  speaking  of  “  earthly  things,"  we  cannot  escape 
from  the  evident  need  to  teach,  the  presence  of 
material  for  teaching,  and  the  influence  wielded  by 
the  things  taught.  “  Dogma  "  is  resisted  because 
it  renders  prominent  the  element  of  Authority  latent 
in  all  teaching.  Moreover  it  seems  possible  to  shelter 
oneself,  in  this  position,  behind  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures  :  “  Do  they  not  draw  a  like  distinction  ?  " 
“  No  one  can  deny  their  recognition  of  doctrine,  but 
what  of  their  attitude  towards  dogma  ?  " 

Use  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament . 

The  word  is  rarely  used. 


i/ 


38  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

1.  It  occurs  twice  in  connection  with  secular 
matters — once,  of  the  arbitrary  decree  of  an  earthly 
potentate  (St.  Luke  ii.  i),  once,  on  the  lips  of  perse¬ 
cuting  Jews  pleading  a  like  Edict  (Acts  xvii.  7). 

2.  It  is  applied  twice  to  Church  matters,  in  an 
unfavourable  connection,  in  passages  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistles,  where  the  Apostle  speaks  concerning  the 
tyranny  of  obsolete  ordinances  and  regulations, 
“  that  were  against  us,"  but  now  are  “  blotted  out  " 
— obsolete  ordinances  and  regulations,  the  acceptance 
of  which  involved  antagonism  to  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Christian  Church. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  these  passages 
exhibit,  not  St.  Paul  in  opposition  to  dogma,  but  the 
clash  of  opposing  dogmas.  The  proclamation  is  that 
of  a  herald  who  announces,  “  le  roi  est  mort,"  but, 
with  instant  breath  continues,  “  vive  le  roi." 

3.  In  the  expression  “  Dogmas  to  keep,"  or  more 
literally,  “  to  guard  "  (Acts  xvi.  4),  the  word  and  the 
thing  alike  emerge  into  light  in  connection  with  the 
activities  of  the  Church  at  the  earliest  period  of  her 
history  with  a  significance  already  fully  developed 
and  clearly  defined. 

It  is  an  amply  sufficient  reply  to  the  objection 
“  that  the  decrees  to  be  guarded  were,  in  this  case, 
practical  and  not  doctrinal,"  when  it  is  answered 
that  all  dogma  is  essentially  and  primarily  practical, 
although  its  formulation  may  involve  and  require 
a  doctrinal  basis  (such  as  these  decrees  undoubtedly 
have),  or  on  the  other  hand,  its  practical  significance 
may  underlie  the  doctrinal  form  which  its  statement 
assumes. 

In  fact,  “  dogma  "  and  “  doctrine  "  are  but  the 
twofold  aspect  of  God’s  revelation  received  in  the 
Church  :  “  dogma "  as  apprehended  by  her, 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  39 

“  doctrine  ”  as  taught  by  her.  In  a  word,  “  dogma  " 
is  the  “  form  ”  of  “  doctrine.” 

The  relation  of  Dogma  to  Authority. 

It  has  been  already  stated— 

Absolute  authority  exists  alone  in  God  and  in 
our  incarnate  Lord. 

Such  absolute  authority  is  the  authority  of  Direct 
Revelation. 

The  authority  of  the  Church  and  of  Holy  Scripture 
is  the  conditional  authority  of  Mediate  or  Trans¬ 
mitted  Revelation.  The  authority  of  their  witness 
is  based  upon  that  of  Him  to  Whom  they  witness 
and  is  manifest  in  proportion  to  their  witness  to 
Him. 

Both  in  Holy  Scripture  and  in  the  Church,  there 
is  evident  a  twofold  authority— 

(a)  The  relative  authority  of  teacher,  i.e.  the 

Church  or  the  Writer  is  responsible  for  the 
expression  of  revealed  truth. 

(b)  The  absolute  authority  of  Author,  i.e.  God 

Himself,  for  the  substance  of  the  truth 
revealed. 

Conceptions  as  to  the  Nature  of  Dogma. 

Three  estimates  of  dogma  exist— 

1.  Dogma  is  essentially  the  absolute  expression 
of  the  truth. 

According  to  this  view,  dogma  is,  as  it  were, 
crystalline — a  crystal :  regular,  clear,  formal,  precise, 
but  lifeless.  Its  nature  widely  dissevered  from  life 
by  its  existence  as  a  crystal.  Its  nature  incapable 
of  giving  life  and  very  incompletely  of  sustaining  it. 
Its  biological  relation  is  restricted  to  that  of  being 
a  “  by-product  ”  or  an  “  excretion  ”  of  the  Church’s 
life.  Its  existence  is  that  of  a  “  deposit,”  an 


40  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

“  abstraction,” — and  if  the  soul  be  loaded  with  useless 
or  effete  matter,  it  will  become  diseased,  as  surely 
as  the  body. 

This  view  forgets  that  the  Church  is  a  living  body 
with  characteristically  organic  produce. 

2.  Dogma  is  regarded  as  the  temporary  shrine 
of  an  incommensurate  truth. 

According  to  this  view,  the  relation  of  Dogma 
to  truth  is  like  that  of  the  Husk  to  the  Kernel — 
protective,  merely,  to  the  new  life,  until  its  strength 
is  developed. 

But  the  husk  is  a  protection  needed  for  the  kernel 
isolated  from  the  parent  stem,  and  the  doctrines  of 
the  Church  cannot  have  any  meaning  apart  from  the 
Church,  but  exist  in  unbroken  continuity  with  the 
life  of  which  they  are  the  outcome. 

3.  Dogma  is  the  vital  expression  of  practical  truth. 

According  to  this  view,  the  Crystalloid  in  the 

tuber  or  the  seed  is  a  truer  figure  of  what  dogma  is. 
Though  not  inorganic,  it  is  crystalline  in  form ; 
though  not  isolated  from  permanent  relation  with 
life,  its  temporary  form  is  yet  subservient  to  the 
uses  of  life.  It  is  a  product  of  life — separated  out 
from  life,  yet  enshrined  in  living  environment — 
stored  up  for  future  benefit  to  life,  in  face  of  present 
dangers — destined  to  be  dissolved  on  contact  with 
life  into  forms  assimilatable  by  life,  that  it  may  be 
utilized  in  life  and  to  life’s  sustenance  and  increase. 

Until  brought  “  in  touch  ”  with  life,  dogma 
remains  unserviceable  to  life. 

At  all  times  there  is  the  strongest  possible  con¬ 
trast  between  the  narrowness  of  the  hard-and-fast 
lines  of  dogmatism,  and  the  precision  of  the  subtle 
outlines  of  dogma. 


ESSAY  IV 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

So  far  as  the  evidence  goes,  the  Early  Church 
(i.e.  the  Church  of  the  first  two  centuries)  was 
strongly  sacramental  and  as  markedly  unsacerdotal. 

The  witness  of  Silence  cannot  fairly  be  made — 
by  any  doctrine  of  reserve  that  refrained  from 
casting  that  which  was  holy  before  the  unclean,  or 
of  care  to  avoid  ambiguity  in  the  presence  of  Judaistic 
and  Pagan  phraseology  and  ideas — to  overthrow  the 
positive  witness  of  historic  testimony  on  this  point. 

The  Sacramental  Word  and  Act  was  then  the 
chief  thing  ;  not  the  actor  or  speaker,  the  Agent 
of  their  enaction. 

Afterwards  the  focus  became  distorted  ;  and 
he  who  did  assumed  a  false  prominence  in  relation 
to  what  was  done. 

This  change  came  about  because  the  thought  of 
corporate  authority  was  displaced  by  that  of  indi¬ 
vidual  power. 

In  the  Early  Church  the  reality  of  Priesthood 
was  not  sharply  distinguished  from  its  regular 
exercise.  Hence  the  deposed  priest  was  really 


42  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


regarded  as  a  layman.  Hence,  too,  we  do  not  find 
any  evidence  that  the  Early  Church  recognized  an 
“  indelible  character  ”  impressed  by  ordination. 

Indeed,  the  grace  of  Ordination  was  conceived 
of  as  a  special  trust  rather  than  as  a  personal  en¬ 
dowment  ;  the  grace  given  appertained  to  the 
office  and  work  rather  than  to  the  officer. 

In  the  Christian  Church  there  is  a  difference 
of  priestly  work  rather  than  of  priestly  character. 

^  In  the  earliest  ritual  of  the  Church  the  Bishop 
appears  as  the  central  Officiant  and  the  Presbytery 
as  his  assistants. 

■s 

The  conception  of  the  independent  position  and 
activities  of  the  priest  is  of  later  growth. 

In  time  the  conception  of  an  ecclesiastical  Officer 
and  Steward  of  Christ,  whose  honour  lay  in  his 
Authority  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  his  Office 
in  the  Household  of  Faith,  was  superseded  by  that 
of  the  Mediating  Priest,  whose  glory  lay  in  the 
possession  of  inherent  supernatural  powers  and  the 
custody  and  control  of  means  of  grace. 

Such  a  conception  logically  ends  in  the  priest 
finally  becoming  the  director  of  individual  con¬ 
science  and  the  arbiter  of  individual  destiny. 

In  the  one  case  the  priest  ministered  for  the  well¬ 
being  of  a  community  and  to  that  of  its  members  ; 
in  the  other  he  arbitrates  and  works  that  well¬ 
being.  This  is  the  change  from  a  “  medium  ”  or 
an  "  intermediary  ”  to  that  of  a  “  mediator  ”  ; 
it  is  Sacerdotalism. 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  43 


Sacerdotalism  is  difficult  to  define,  because  it  is 
a  temper ;  an  accent  rather  than  a  thing.  It  is 
the  spirit  inherent  to  such  a  conception  of  the 
Priesthood  as  claims  the  exclusive  possession  of 
peculiar  supernatural  powers  inhering  independently 
in  a  Person  or  Order  in  consequence  of  the  isolated 
bestowal  upon  each  of  an  individual  gift,  instead 
of  laying  stress  upon  the  distributive  discharge  of 
ordered  spiritual  function  which  characteristically 
marks  the  administration  of  the  Sevenfold  Gifts 
of  Christ  committed  to  the  Church. 

It  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of  the  English 
Reformation  that  it  enabled  the  Church  of  England 
to  recover,  reassert,  and  revive  the  more  primitive 
and  purer  view,  while  she  continues  to  maintain 
the  necessity  of  Orders  in  a  Visible  Historic  and 
Apostolic  Church,  to  reiterate  the  dignity  of  the 
Ministry  and  to  emphasize  the  pre-eminently  sacra¬ 
mental  character  of  the  Church's  life. 

No  Christian  is  more  sacerdotal  in  function  than 
another  ;  the  Priesthood  is  only  representatively 
sacerdotal,  the  Organ  of  a  body  in  which  all  are 
alike  Priests.  Yet  all  have  not  the  same  ministerial 
functions  or  the  like  authoritative  commission. 

The  order  of  Priesthood  is  one  which  dispenses 
sacramental  grace,  but  does  not  control  it ;  one 
which  administers  sacramental  grace,  but  does  not 
bestow  it. 

The  Christian  “  Order  of  Priesthood  "  is  cha¬ 
racterized  by  ministry,  not  by  sacrifice  ;  its  office 


44  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


is  pre-eminently  pastoral,  and  the  Order  of  Priest¬ 
hood  exists  on  behalf  of  the  Sacrificial  Order  of  the 
Church. 

So  far  as  the  Order  of  Priesthood  exercises  sacri¬ 
ficial  functions,  it  does  so  representatively,  not 
mediatorially. 

Its  exclusive  functions  are  in  order  to  and  in 
consequence  of  sacrifice,  not  those  of  sacrifice  itself — 
thus  some  to  consecrate,  all  to  offer ;  some  to 
administer,  all  to  celebrate. 

In  a  word,  in  the  Christian  Church  there  is  no 
sacrificing  Order,  but  a  sacrificing  people  in  due 
order ;  and  the  Sacerdotal  Order  of  the  Church  is 
wider  than  the  threefold  orders  of  Apostolic  ministry 
within  it. 

Since  the  Priesthood  is  the  most  numerous  and 
widely  distributed  Ministerial  Order,  its  members 
have  naturally  been  immemorially  responsible  for 
the  universal  and  chief  and  central  Act  of  the 
Church's  Worship,  especially  in  those  portions 
that  are  of  most  weighty  consequence,  such  as# 
for  instance,  the  Consecration  Prayer.  Hence  a 
limitation  due  to  order,  as  sharply  marked  as  if 
due  to  doctrine. 

“  The  Ecclesiastic  ”  is  “  The  Priest  ”  of  the 
English  Church.  He  is  yet  more  the  Officer  of 
Christ  than  the  Officer  of  the  Church ;  and  his 
office  is  alike  magisterial  and  administrative.  He 
is  the  spiritual  statesman  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
amongst  men  ;  in  the  world,  yet  not  of  it ;  exercising 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  45 


the  Authority  of  Christ  in  the  Realm  of  the  Power 
of  God. 

It  is  easy  to  misunderstand  the  aims  of  Ministry  ; 
it  is  not  easy  to  over-estimate  the  Dignity  of  the 
Ministerial  Office. 

From  the  earliest  times,  when  we  can  trace  the 
History  of  the  Church  as  a  settled  great  visible 
organized  Community,  three  Orders  are  found. 

Our  position  is  one  of  historical  fact,  not  to  argue 
whether  ancient  immemorial  and  universal  Custom 
be  right  or  wrong— though  if  we  believe  the  Church 
to  be  divinely  guided  (as  we  believe  the  individual 
to  be)  we  shall  have  a  strong  bias  to  believe  such 
an  order  right. 

The  triple  order  of  the  Ministry  we  do  not  know 
to  have  immediate  divine  Institution  or  Necessity  ; 
it  has  sufficient  and  adequate  authority  to  ensure 
its  validity  as  well  as  Canonicity  or  regularity. 

To  reject  its  completeness  is  to  incur  irregularity 
and  to  endanger  validity ;  indeed,  in  the  Early 
Church  that  which  was  irregular  was  counted 
thereby  invalid. 

Moreover,  the  evidence  of  commission  and 
hence  of  validity  should  be  clearly  manifest  in  an 
historic  and  visible  organization,  by  an  historical 
and  visible  witness  ;  hence  the  indispensable  cha¬ 
racter  of  the  Episcopal  Succession. 

Hence  also,  while  we  do  not  deny  the  reality  of 
other  “  Ministry s,”  we  are  unable  to  recognize 
such  ministries  as  "  ordered/'  i.e.  as  possessing 


46  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCFI 

the  specialized  functions  of  the  Episcopate,  the 
Priesthood,  or  the  Diaconate,  which  mark  the 
historic  Economy  of  the  Church. 

The  unbroken  order  and  uniform  custom  of 
the  Church  in  respect  to  the  threefold  Ministry  and 
its  functions  is  most  impressive. 

That  which  is  novel  we  must  decline  to  recognize 
in  this  matter. 

By  nothing  is  the  Visible  Continuity  of  the  One 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  more  clearly  evidenced 
than  by  the  Historic  Episcopate  and  the  immemorial 
specialization  of  function  in  the  ordered  Ministry 
of  the  Church. 

The  history  of  the  Development  of  the  Orders 
of  Christian  Ministry  is  more  of  antiquarian  than 
practical  value. 

The  following  points,  however,  require  to  be 
noted  : — 

1.  The  fixed  order  of  Catholic  Ministry  only 
dates  "  from  the  Apostles’  time  ”  ;  theirs  a  unique 
position  and  office. 

2.  The  “  Orders  ”  represent  the  local  (and 
localized)  elements  in  the  Christian  Ministry. 

They  were  at  first  twofold  Ittlokottoi,  also  called 
irptafivTspoi ;  and  SicIkovoi  (cf.  St.  Paul’s  Pastoral 
and  other  Epistles). 

It  is  probable  that  the  stages  by  which  the  local 
Episcopate  assumed  its  final  and  permanent  form 
were  different  in  different  places,  their  issue  in  a 
uniform  order  being  due  to  the  establishment  in  a 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  47 


position  of  greatest  stability  of  the  same  factors, 
in  a  system  of  which  they  formed  the  constant 
elements. 

From  this  point  of  view  the  historic  development 
of  the  Ministry  appears  as  a  series  of  oscillations, 
more  or  less  varied  in  different  areas  and  bringing 
about  temporarily  diverse  or  divergent  inter¬ 
relations  ;  but  issuing  in  a  uniform  settlement,  poten¬ 
tially  present  from  the  first  in  the  constitution  of 
the  Church  and  the  elements  of  the  Ministry. 

St.  James  of  Jerusalem  from  the  first  approxi¬ 
mates  very  closely  to  the  later  conception  of  a 
Diocesan  Bishop,  in  respect  to  his  Authority  ;  and 
the  function  of  Ordination  may  have  been  regarded 
as  a  necessary  consequence  of  such  a  position  of 
authority,  quite  apart  from  any  special  supposed 
commission  or  “  gift  ”  to  ordain.  The  intense 
reverence  for  the  central  and  primary  ministerial 
authority  of  the  Bishop  in  very  early  days  would 
stamp  his  activities  with  a  pre-eminent  validity, 
and  restrain  all  others  from  their  usurpation  through 
an  innate  fear  of  presumption. 

It  would  never  enter  their  minds  to  question 
the  power  where  there  was  the  authority,  nor  to 
recognize  the  power  where  the  authority  was  less 
evident. 

The  fact  that  the  Episcopate  owed  its  authority 
to  “  custom  ”  would  certainly  not  justify  any 
individual  presbyter  or  presbytery  in  "  taking  to 
himself  ”  or  assuming  peculiar  Episcopal  functions 


48  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


contrary  to  that  established  “  custom  ”  ;  to  do  so 
would  be  irregular  and  uncanonical,  even  “  invalid  ” 
in  the  sense  of  “  precarious,”  as  endangering  both 
the  guarantee  and  the  reality  of  “  Mission.” 

The  evidence  of  "  Mission  ”  is  “  Order.” 

There  is  no  evidence  that  any  presbyter  ever 
dared  to  arrogate  to  himself  the  authority  to  ordain 
as  a  Presbyter  until  the  Reformation. 

There  is  also  no  evidence  whatever  that  the 
Episcopate  originated  from  the  presbytery  by  usurpa¬ 
tion— from  the  position  of  “  ruling  eldership,” 
“  superintending  presidentship,”  as  primus  inter 
pares  in  a  purely  presbyterian  sense. 

So  far  as  the  Witness  of  Church  History  is  con¬ 
cerned,  it  may  be  noted  here  that  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  century  exhibits  fully  developed  the 
Historic  Episcopate  and  an  established  Tradition 
of  its  primitive  origin  and  succession  ;  at  the  same 
period  we  also  find  no  less  marked  an  emphatic 
insistence  upon  the  undisputed  supremacy  and 
supreme  authority  of  the  single  "  Bishop.” 

The  early  conception  of  a  Bishop’s  Office  seems 
to  have  been  that  of  authority,  administration, 
and,  according  to  the  Clementines,  teaching  ;  that 
is  to  say,  he  is  regarded  chiefly  as  the  visible  centre 
of  Ecclesiastical  Unity,  the  source  of  Government, 
and  the  depositary  of  Apostolic  Tradition. 

In  their  measure  and  order  the  Presbyters  co¬ 
operate  in  these  respects  with  him. 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  49 


ST.  PAUL  S  USE  OF  THE  WORDS  “  MINISTERS 

AND  STEWARDS” 

“  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  the  ministers  of 
Christ  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.” 

St.  Paul  speaks  under  difficult  circumstances — ■ 
men  misunderstand  the  aims  of  the  ministry,  they 
did  not  over-estimate  its  dignity. 

In  answering  them,  St.  Paul's  chief  care  is  to 
correct  the  appreciation  of  its  aims,  yet  so  that  he 
does  not  appear  to  disparage  its  claims. 

The  manner  in  which  he  does  this  is  suggestive — 
he  gives  no  abstract  definition  of  the  ministerial 
office,  nor  does  he  even  present  it  as  viewed  in  its 
completeness,  towards  God  as  well  as  towards  man, 
he  simply  states  how  they  (his  hearers)  are  to  regard 
it.  “  Let  a  man  so  regard  us.” 

Two  aspects  of  the  ministerial  office  are  exhibited 
in  his  figure,  drawn  from  two  separate  sources — the 
Jewish  and  the  Gentile  World  respectively. 

He  first  declares  the  “  standing  ”  of  the  ministry 
and  then  the  “  activity  ”  of  the  ministry. 

1.  The  Ministers  of  Christ.  (Jewish  source. 
The  standing  of  the  ministry.) 

The  word  employed,  different  from  either  of  the 
kindred  ones  used  in  other  passages  ("  servant — 
SovAoc — of  Christ  ”  (Rom.  i.  1),  and  "  good  servant — 
<)iaKovoQ — of  Jesus  Christ  ”  (1  Tim.  iv.  6) ). 

The  word  employed  has  an  interesting  history — 

The  stages  of  its  use  in  classical  Greek  are  :  (1)  a 
rower  in  a  war  galley  ;  (2)  a  toiler  ;  (3)  a  subordinate 
official  (such  as  an  orderly  to  a  commander),  an 
herald.  In  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts,  it  is  used 
particularly  of  Jewish  underlings,  civil  and  sacred, 
save  in  two  most  significant  instances,  viz. — 

E 


50  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


1.  “  From  the  beginning  were  eye  witnesses  and 
Ministers  of  the  Word  ”  (Luke  i.  2). 

2.  (By  our  Lord  Himself)  :  “  My  Kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world  ;  if  my  Kingdom  were  of  this 
world,  then  would  my  Servants  fight,  that  I 
should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews  :  but  now 
is  my  Kingdom  not  from  hence  ”  (John  xviii. 

36). 

The  “  ministers  of  Christ  ”  are  the  Officers 
of  the  Kingdom. 

Appropriately  to  this,  the  term  is  never  used  in 
the  Epistles — save  of  the  office  of  the  ministry  in 
this  place. 

In  this  figure  congenial  to  Jewish  thought,  the 
standing  of  the  ministry  is  set  forth.  The  position 
is  one — subject  but  not  servile,  responsible  and 
therefore  honourable — subordinate  to  God,  not  to 
man  ;  that  none  may  boast  or  despise. 

2.  Stewards  of  the  Mysteries  of  God. 
[Gentile  source.  The  work  of  the  ministry .) 

This  thought  of  “  stewardship  ”  drawn  from  the 
Gentile  idea  of  the  Family  (viz.  the  clan,  the  house¬ 
hold,  the  steward,  the  KYPI02). 

Under  this  figure  is  set  forth  the  activities  of 
the  ministry,  viz. — 

Oversight,  Providence,  Guardianship  ;  the  Clergy 
are  to  direct,  to  feed,  and  to  maintain. 

(a)  The  Clergy  are  to  regulate,  to  govern,  to 
control  the  household  of  Faith.  Their  Apostolic 
charge  is  “to  command  and  to  teach/’  to  “  exhort 
and  to  rebuke,”  with  all  authority ;  and,  by  the 
power  and  commandment  of  their  Lord,  through 
their  ministry,  “  to  bind  and  to  loose,”  “  to  remit 
and  to  retain  ”  within  the  family  of  God. 

(b)  Furthermore,  it  pertains  to  their  office,  to 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  51 


feed  with  fit  nourishment,  each  and  all  over  whom 
their  care  is  given. 

(c)  Theirs  also,  Presbyters  as  well  as  Bishops 
(according  to  the  Ordination  Service  of  the  English 
Church — -in  this  a  unique  and  peculiar  example),  to 
preserve  and  to  guard  the  proportion  of  the  Faith. 

These  functions  are  performed  by  virtue  of  the 
guardianship  of  Stewards — to  whom  is  committed  a 
“  trust,”  a  “  gift,”  a  “  deposit  ”  ;  for  they  are 
“  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God,”  commissioned 
to  administer  out  of  the  treasury  of  Grace,  things 
both  new  and  old. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Clerical  Office  are  pre¬ 
eminently  Pastoral  (feeding,  direction,  guardianship, 
oversight  and  rescue)  ;  all  peculiar  and  so-called 
“  sacerdotal  ”  functions  being  subordinate  to  the 
Pastoral  Work  of  provision  and  the  Official  Steward¬ 
ship  of  administration. 

Placed  in  a  position  of  special  authority,  they 
exercise  that  authority  by  special  service,  and  by 
serving,  they  command. 

The  most  Priestly  work  of  the  Clergy  is  often 
done  in  the  most  "  unpriestly  ”  fashion  ;  and  only 
thus  possible. 


CONFIRMATION 

“  Confirmation  ”  is  essentially  an  Apostolic  v 
Benediction — the  concluding  Blessing  in  the  service 
of  Initiation  pronounced  by  the  Bishop  ;  a  rite 
analogous  to  the  Laying  on  of  Hands  by  the  Apostles,  ^ 
not  necessarily  identical  with  it. 

There  is  absolute  silence  about  the  practice  of 
Laying  on  of  Hands,  as  a  continued  usage  of  the 
Church  in  connection  with  Baptism,  until  Tertullian. 


52  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


That  Baptism  and  Confirmation  are  closely 
connected,  is  witnessed  by  the  universal  practice  of 
the  Eastern  Church,  which  administers  Confirma¬ 
tion  immediately  after  Baptism. 

That  Confirmation  is  the  Complement  of  Baptism, 
and  not  a  mere  adjunct,  is  no  less  clearly  shown  by 
the  immemorial  appointment  of  the  West,  in  dis¬ 
sociating  the  times  of  their  observance. 

That  Confirmation  is  the  Completion  of  Baptism, 
is  emphasized  by  the  Echo  and  Affirmation  of 
Sponsorial  promises  and  vows,  in  the  Rite  as  observed 
in  the  Church  of  England. 

But  though  not  its  mere  associate,  Confirmation 
is  no  rival  in  dignity  to  Baptism,  the  lesser  rite 
depends  for  its  grace  upon  the  greater  Sacrament ; 
even  as  the  Institution  of  the  one,  as  "  necessary 
to  salvation  ”  by  Christ,  surpasses  the  following  of 
the  Apostles’  Example  to  edification. 

The  close  conjunction  of  Baptism  with  Confirma¬ 
tion  in  the  time  of  the  Fathers  was  not  favourable 
to  appreciation  of  the  distinction  between  the  Grace 
of  Baptism  and  that  of  Confirmation. 

The  upspringing  of  an  elaborate  Ceremonial, 
with  recurrent  and  but  slightly  varied  and  uncertain 
symbolism,  in  connection  with  their  twofold  obser¬ 
vance,  increased  the  elements  of  confusion. 

The  gradual  substitution  of  Unction  for  the 
Laying  on  of  Hands  completed  alike  a  “  corrupt 
following  of  the  Apostles  ”  and  the  obscuration  of 
accurate  doctrine. 

Only  the  separation  between  the  two  Offices  in 
the  West  gave  promise  of  an  eventual  reformation 
in  rite  and  clarification  in  doctrine. 

The  Prayer-book  Service,  in  its  very  restraint  of 
Ceremonial  and  moderation  of  language  reflects  most 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  53 


truly,  the  position  of  primitive  days,  and  the  indeter¬ 
minate  position  in  its  deeper  aspects  of  the  teaching 
of  those  early  ages,  to  which  it  presents  a  return  in 
what  has  been  called  “  indefiniteness  of  language,” 
as  compared  with  theirs. 

Any  consideration  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Grace  ^ 
of  Confirmation  must  bear  in  mind  the  following 
general  principles 

1.  The  laying  on  of  hands  of  the  Bishop,  finds 

its  precedent  as  a  rite,  in  the  example  of 
the  Apostles  ;  and  derives  its  significance 
from  his  position,  as  the  Depositary  of  all 
Ministerial  authority,  gifts,  and  action. 

2.  Every  ministration  in  the  Body  of  Christ,  is 

an  Administration  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

These  principles  are  common  to  the  case  of  Con¬ 
firmation  and  Orders  alike. 

To  proceed  :  Baptism  is  an  entrance  into  the 
Church,  the  Church  is  indwelt  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
each  Christian  is  called  “  a  Temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,”  it  is  said,  “  those  who  have  not  the  spirit  of 
Christ  are  none  of  His.” 

The  Personal  Spirit  is  given  to  each,  by  virtue  “5 
of  His  indwelling  in  the  Church  ;  when  the  new  life 
is  made  theirs  by  spiritual  regeneration  and  incor¬ 
poration  into  the  body  of  Christ. 

The  Holy  Ghost  then  becomes  the  portion  of  the 
Christian’s  inheritance  ;  life-giving  Lord  to  be  in¬ 
voked,  but  not  to  be  prayed  for,  as  if  not  already 
ours. 

St.  Augustine  says,  "  We  say  therefore  that  in 
baptized  infants,  though  they  know  it  not,  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwells.” 

Confirmation,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  the 
primary  impart ation  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 


54  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


but  its  perfecting  in  all  His  Sevenfold  fulness  of 
grace,  the  normal  entrance  into  the  plenary  enjoy¬ 
ment  and  assistance  of  those  bounties  which  inhere 
in  the  primary  Gift  that  is  already  ours — by  Invoca¬ 
tion,  Evocation  and  Confirmation,  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

The  Consecration  to  the  Priesthood  of  the  whole 
Church  which  Confirmation  is,  has  a  natural  analogy 
to  the  consecration  of  Ministerial  Priesthood. 

In  both,  it  is  not  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a 
Person  that  is  to  be  received  ;  He  is  in  us — but  it 
is  “  Holy  Spirit/'  a  gift,  a  grace,  “  Chrism,"  that  is 
given  ;  His  energizing  operation,  not  His  immanent 
indwelling. 

In  a  word,  sources  of  spiritual  Character  are  then 
bestowed,  but  not  the  source  of  spiritual  life  itself 
conferred — that  spiritual  life  on  which  all  “  Charac¬ 
ter  "  must  be  founded,  and  from  which  alone  it  can 
be  educed  and  developed  “  in  measure."  Confirma¬ 
tion,  as  already  implied,  appears  to  be  the  bestowal 
of  no  element  of  spiritual  life,  yet  Confirmation  is 
not  merely  like  the  “  quickening  "  of  the  child  in 
the  mother's  womb,  an  awakening  to  the  exercise 
of  individual  powers  ;  it  is  even  more,  it  marks  the 
viability  of  an  independent  spiritual  life.  “  Baptisms 
and  the  laying  on  of  hands  "  are  terms  to  a  stage  of 
spiritual  experience.  Confirmation  is  a  spiritual 
"  coming  of  age,"  accompanied  by  a  maturation  of 
spiritual  endowments. 

It  is  also  the  opportunhy  and  occasion  of  spiritual 
fruitfulness  ;  for  Confirmation  opens  up  all  revealed 
Means  of  Grace  for  the  formation  of  Christian 
Character.  As,  in  respect  to  its  “  grace,"  Confirma¬ 
tion  cannot  be  isolated  from  Baptism — since  Con¬ 
firmation  is  the  benedictory  Ratification  of  Baptismal 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  CHURCH  55 


Grace  and  intercessory  Request  for  its  increase — 
and  as  there  is  required  from  all  beyond  the  age  of 
infancy  certain  spiritual  qualifications,  before  they 
may  receive  even  Baptism  itself — in  order  to  receive 
the  Grace  of  Confirmation  those  “  now  of  years  of 
discretion  and  having  learned/'  must  exhibit  a  yet 
fuller  measure  of  personal  fitness  and  qualification. 

This  follows  from  the  Nature  of  the  Rite,  both 
in  its  relation  to  Baptism  and  in  the  character  of  its 
grace. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  ignore  or  be  un¬ 
mindful  of,  the  presence  of  spiritual  disabilities, 
when  they  exist  in  the  case  of  such  as  are  of  an  age 
to  be  confirmed,  whether  they  arise  from  the  pro¬ 
longation  of  spiritual  infancy,  incapacity,  infirmity, 
or  alienation. 

Iraeneus  well  says,  The  gift  of  the  Spirit  “  is 
only  bestowed  on  those  whose  lives  are  adapted 
for  it.” 

To  such,  in  Confirmation,  the  Holy  Ghost  grants 
a  development  for  progress  in  grace. 


ESSAY  V 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION 

“  Absolution  ”  is  a  Church  term,  because,  unlike 
“  forgiveness/’  it  has  exclusive  reference  to  the 
Church,  andnot  to  the  World  of  Redeemed  Humanity. 

Absolution  signifies  the  release  from  bondage  ; 
remission,  the  forgiveness  of  a  debt.  Hence  the 
phrase  “  the  Absolution  or  Remission  of  sins  ”  (a 
phrase  due  to  the  Puritans)  is  not  a  redundant  or 
explanatory  expression  for  one  thing,  but  the  two 
aspects  of  one  Act  from  very  different  points  of  view. 
In  this  complex  sense  the  Absolution  is,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  declaration  and  assurance  of  God’s  pardon 
and  forgiveness  ;  on  the  other,  the  conveyance  and 
restoration  of  a  freedom  lost  or  impaired  through  sin. 

Besides  the  effect  of  sin  in  bringing  guilt  towards 
God,  it  affects  our  relation  to  Humanity.  And, 
since  Christ  has  taken  human  nature  into  Himself, 
God’s  forgiveness  must  be  conjoined  with  man’s — 
“  the  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive 
sins.” 

Hence  Absolution  is  the  application  of  the 
Divine  Forgiveness  to  the  wounded  Soul  by  the 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  57 

pitying  hands  of  that  good  Samaritan,  with  Whom, 
according  to  the  flesh,  it  is  set  at  enmity — pouring 
in  oil  and  wine  ;  gifts  given  indeed  by  God,  but 
administered  by  His  Church  for  healing  and  relief, 
for  “  benefit  ”  and  “  comfort.” 

Speaking  of  Christian  folks  alone,  God  does  not 
forgive  “  in  Christ  ”  apart  from  the  Church  which 
is  His  body,  but  forgives  by  restoration  of  unity 
with  that  body,  to  which  is  granted  in  an  especial—- 
because  covenanted — degree,  “  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,”  and  to  be  in  living  unity  within  which  is  to 
be  in  a  “  state  of  salvation.” 

The  depreciation  of  the  need  of  “  Absolution  ” 
is  due  to  a  defective  estimate  of  the  results  of  sin. 
By  sin  we  do  an  injury  against  redeemed  humanity  ; 
we  play,  as  it  were,  the  part  of  Adam  in  a  “  New 
Creation  ”  ;  we  react  in  a  degree  the  Tragedy  of  the 
Fall ;  we  are  traitors  against  our  restored,  common 
birth-right,  untrue  alike  to  our  “  nature  ”  and 
our  “  calling.”  Moreover,  the  channels  of  our 
union  with  the  body  are  choked,  and  our  fellowship 
in  its  unity  checked  as  well  as  rendered  injurious — 
therefore  the  offence  against  the  brethren  must  be 
done  away,  ere  our  restoration  is  complete. 

Absolution  is  therefore  at  once  the  conveyance 
of  the  Church’s  release  and  the  declaration  of  God’s 
pardon. 

God’s  forgiveness  indeed  acquits  freely  and  fully 
of  “  guilt  ”  ;  it  does  not  necessarily,  therefore, 
remove  the  effects  of  sin. 


58  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Such  are,  alienation  from  our  fellows  and 
estrangement  from  the  means  of  grace,  both  spiri¬ 
tual  evils  ;  and  also  temporal  punishment  that  is 
a  temporal  "  evil.” 

Absolution  is  the  remedy  to  provide  for  the 
removal  of  the  two  former  of  these  ills,  a  first  aid 
provided  for  the  assistance  of  a  soul  bound  by  the 
infirmities  consequent  on  these  two  spiritual  evils — 
evils,  however,  in  the  remedying  of  which  man’s 
forgiveness  and  assistance  has  a  real  part  to  play 
in  its  new  unity,  power,  justice,  and  tenderness 
in  Christ,  “  restoring  such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of 
Charity.” 

Absolution  being  the  declaration  by  man,  and 
therefore  removing  sense  of  estrangement  from  our 
fellows — of  God’s  pardon,  and  therefore  removing 
that  estrangement  from  the  means  of  grace,  which 
ultimately  is  sense  of  alienation  from  God,  Absolu¬ 
tion  is  not  merely  removal  of  Church  censures,  but 
the  renewal  of  Church  Communion. 

Hence  while  Absolution  brings  removal  of  Church 
censure  and  access  to  the  means  of  grace  and  to 
Communion,  yet  it  is  not  the  same  as  Church  Dis¬ 
cipline,  but  underlies  it  as  a  principle,  exemplifying 
the  blessing  of  a  free  and  bold  access  towards  God 
“  in  Christ  ”  and  “  through  the  blood  ”  of  Christ. 

All  “  Christian  ”  forgiveness  has  an  especial 
quality  and  efficacy — “  confess  your  sins  one  to 
another  and  pray  one  for  another  that  ye  may  be 
healed.” 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  59 

Yet  this  is  particularly  so  in  the  case  of  the 
“  elders  of  the  Church/' 

This  is  because  by  virtue  of  their  office  they  both 
speak  in  Christ's  stead  and  also  as  the  voice  of  the 
Church. 

Absolution  is,  in  a  word,  the  power  of  the  Church 
exercised  by  its  officials  with  an  authority  entrusted 
by  Christ. 

The  whole  activity  of  the  Church,  and  hence 
every  act  of  the  Church's  Ministry,  is  inevitably 
characterized  by  a  remitting  and  retaining  of  sins. 

It  is  this  truth  which  is  most  solemnly  declared 
in  the  words  of  our  Lord  in  the  upper  chamber, 
narrated  in  St.  John  xx.  23. 

That  declaration  did  not  institute  Absolution, 
but  recognized  the  Church  as  henceforth  empowered 
to  absolve,  by  the  mission  of  reconciliation  com¬ 
mitted  to  it. 

The  fundamental  exposition  of  the  Principle  of 
Absolution  and  its  Institution  by  the  Command  of 
Christ  is  really  narrated  in  St.  John  xii.  2-16. 

It  is  most  significant  that  the  saying  of  our 
Lord  at  that  time,  “  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not 
now,  but  thou  shalt  understand  hereafter,"  applied 
equally  at  the  time  of  their  promulgation  to  each 
of  those  great  discourses  which  were  afterwards 
to  be  illumined  by  the  Sacramental  Rites  of  the 
Church. 

The  disciples  did  understand  the  teaching  of 
individual  humility  already ;  hence  St.  Peter’s 


6o  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


refusal.  Our  Lord  impressed  the  lesson  they  evi¬ 
dently  showed  themselves  able  to  receive,  and  left 
for  the  time  to  come  the  deeper  significance  of  His 
words  and  Act. 

In  the  words  of  peace  to  the  conscience-stricken 
and  troubled  disciples  on  the  Resurrection  morning, 
they  were  prepared  to  receive  the  reminder  of  the 
teaching  of  the  Passion  night,  and  commission  to 
exercise  a  collective  humility,  personally  exhibited 
by  the  body  of  Christ  towards  each  erring  one, 
and  “  to  restore  such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of  humility.” 

It  is  sometimes  said,  “  what  right  has  the  Church 
to  pick  and  choose  which  institutions  of  our  Lord 
she  will  continue  to  observe — why  keep  the  Holy 
Communion  and  reject  the  washing  of  feet  ?  ” 
The  words  of  our  Lord  in  this  case  clearly  show  that 
a  spiritual  act  lay  hidden  for  the  time,  concealed 
by  this  outward  washing  which  the  disciples  already 
understood  ;  when  able  to  receive  it,  the  permanent 
institution  of  Absolution  was  recognized  alike  by 
our  Lord’s  commission  and  the  Disciples’  practice  ; 
and  Absolution  as  a  quasi-sacramental  rite  fulfils 
ever  in  the  Church — the  washing  of  feet. 

Considered  in  its  relation  to  the  Individual, 
Absolution  is  in  its  essence  the  personal  renewal 
of  Baptismal  Grace,  the  restoration  of  spiritual 
privilege  and  freedom  in  a  state  of  salvation,  to¬ 
gether  with  release  from  the  fear  of  God  which 
hath  “  torment,”  and  from  receiving  as  punishment 
that  Divine  temporal  discipline  which  should  be 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  61 


accepted  as  the  chastisement  of  a  son — rather  than 
pardon  or  release  from  guilt  or  even  its  temporal 
penalties. 

Hence,  like  Baptism,  Absolution  requires  re¬ 
pentance  and  faith  for  its  efficacious  reception  and 
operation. 

Hence  also  the  unjust  refusal  of  Absolution 
cannot  hinder  the  gracious  bestowal  or  restoration 
of  God's  covenanted  benefits  and  blessing. 

In  harmony  with  these  considerations,  it  is 
obvious  that  to  secure  the  due  administration, 
purpose,  and  effect  of  the  Rite,  absolution  is  best 
given  generally  and  appropriated  by  the  individual. 
Only  in  cases  of  exceptional  necessity  should  it  be 
given  and  applied  to  the  individual  as  an  individual. 

The  Church  of  England  recognizes  only  two  such 
cases  :  first,  where  else  the  person  is  deterred  from 
communion,  though  desirous  of  it ;  and  second, 
when  the  person  is  unable  to  prepare  for  death 
because  of  a  troubled  conscience. 

The  administration  of  Absolution  is  naturally 
assigned  by  the  Church  to  those  to  whom  the  Cure 
of  souls  is  committed  either  directly  or  by  devolu¬ 
tion,  i.e.  on  the  Diocesan  Episcopate  primarily  and 
upon  the  Parish  Priesthood.  This  is  the  practical 
ground  for  a  restriction  which  is  sometimes  given 
a  sacerdotal  construction. 

Since  Absolution  is  a  corporate  function  its 
exercise  can  alone  be  looked  for  in  the  ministerial 
Organs  of  the  Church. 


62  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  Ecclesiastical  Administration  of  Penance, 
conceived  in  its  deepest  and  truest  aspect,  lays 
stress  on  the  necessity  of  confession  rather  than  on 
the  “  benefit  "  of  Absolution. 

Such  confession  of  specific  sin  is  immediately 
connected  with  prayer  for  forgiveness ;  the  sub¬ 
ordinate  and  subsequent  benefit  of  Absolution 
depends  on  these  and  follows  from  them,  and  is 
the  authoritative  ratification  of  their  consequences. 

To  sum  up — 

The  words  “  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whose 
soever  sins  ye  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  unto 
them ;  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained/'  were  not  spoken  to  the  Apostles  only, 
but  to  the  disciples — to  the  whole  community 
that  was  to  become  the  Church. 

They  recognized  with  the  authority  of  Christ 
the  power  of  Absolution  committed  to  the  Church. 

To  “  absolve  "  is  to  “  set  free." 

God  in  Christ  is  the  great  Absolver  because  He 
sets  free  from  the  guilt  of  sin  by  His  forgiveness  ; 
from  the  power  of  sin  by  His  Grace. 

None  but  God  can  forgive  sin  or  give  grace. 

Yet  God  gives  to  man  in  "  the  Body  of  Christ," 
absolving  work  to  carry  out,  the  authority  and  power 
to  release  not  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin  but 
from  its  burden  and  its  spiritual  temporal  effects, 
by  declaring  the  forgiveness  granted  by  God  in 
Christ,  to  quieting  of  conscience,  and  by  restoration 
in  the  Christian  fellowship  of  the  means  of  grace. 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  63 

The  corporate  ministry  of  reconciliation  is  dis¬ 
charged  through  those  to  whom  is  committed  the 
official  cure  of  souls,  all  the  work  of  whose  ministry 
involves  in  its  effect  the  remission  and  retaining 
of  sin. 

Finally,  there  is  a  peculiar  quality  in  all  Christian 
Forgiveness  ;  it  is  full,  free,  and  effectual,  in  a 
measure  that  can  only  exist  where  there  is  the 
special  incitement  and  obligation  to  forgive  which 
it  possesses,  and  where  the  Holy  Spirit  is  present 
and  works  with  special  power  and  grace. 

The  whole  consideration  of  the  place  and  value 
of  Absolution  is  confined  to  the  Church  ;  we  are 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  manner  of  application  of 
the  Divine  Forgiveness  in  the  world  outside  ;  hence 
the  Church  can  exercise  and  claim  authority  and 
power  in  this  respect,  only  in  regard  to  its  own 
fellowship  ;  and  the  benefits  of  its  exercise  are 
governed  by  the  spiritual  conditions  obligatory  on 
its  members. 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  PURITY 

The  Church  has  ever  upheld  a  noble  ideal  of 
purity,  yet  has  not  always  supported  that  ideal, 
either  by  wise  argument  or  advanced  it  by  sound 
developments.  Nevertheless,  the  fact  remains,  even 
if  the  methods  be  in  any  respect  impugned. 

No  revolution  so  wholesome  as  that  wrought  and 
upheld  by  Christianity  in  this  respect  is  conceivable. 

As  has  been  already  implied,  the  advocacy  of  the 


64  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Church  for  its  cause  has  not  always  been  faultless, 
nor  its  efforts  on  that  behalf,  well  balanced. 

A  visionary  immaculacy  has  sometimes  been 
detrimentally  substituted  for  an  attainable  chastity, 
while  sexual  purity  has  been  exalted  into  “  the  one 
thing  needful  ”  and  the  equally  imperative  demand 
for  unsullied  truthfulness  ignored. 

A  natural  revulsion  from  the  crying  evil  of  the 
heathen  world,  and  a  legacy  from  the  animality  of 
its  outlook,  from  early  days  fostered  in  the  Church 
an  attitude  which  found  some  encouragement  in 
personal  peculiarities  characteristic  of  St.  Paul  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  ;  and  more  excuse,  in  mis¬ 
conceptions  of  his  counsels  and  attitude. 

A  perfect  ideal  was  inherited  from  our  Lord, 
from  His  words  and  from  His  example,  but  the  point 
of  view  of  the  Christian  Community  suffered  depra¬ 
vation  through  the  corruptions  specified  and  thus 
innumerable  evils  were  bred,  the  lasting  influence  of 
which  has  not  yet  disappeared. 

Purity  is  much  more  positive  than  negative — 
and  the  necessity  for  cleanliness  of  life  is  even 
greater  than  that  for  cleanness  of  life — nothing 
short  of  absolute  chastity  in  thought,  word,  and 
deed,  can  ever  satisfy  the  elevation  of  Christian 
Principle. 

God’s  Creation  demands  reverence  alike  for  all 
natural  ties  and  for  all  natural  endowments. 

Hence,  the  error  is  extremely  grave  and  perilous, 
when  Sex  is  hidden  as  if  itself  and  not  its  abuse, 
was  a  shameful,  an  illicit  and  forbidden  thing — 
instead  of  being  exalted  as  rightly  pervading  and 
dominating  mortal  life — especially  when,  as  it  should 
be  in  Humanity,  glorified  by  its  offspring  Love. 

For  the  misdeeds  of  Passion  (i.e.  sexual  love)  pale 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  65 


before  the  enormities  of  Appetite  (i.e.  sexual  lust), 
divorced  from  love. 

It  is  God's  alone,  to  gauge  the  relative  enormities 
of  sins,  it  is  man’s  to  fear  the  enormity  of  all  sin  ; 
yet  within  the  range  of  any  one  kind  of  wrongdoing, 
it  is  certainly  possible  to  distinguish  degrees  of 
heinousness. 

All  sins  of  the  flesh  are  clearly  condemned  in  that 
they  involve  the  wronging  of  another ;  they  are 
obviously  aggravated  in  the  degree  in  which  desire 
is  wilfully  inflamed,  its  gratification  sought  with 
calculating  selfishness,  or  its  impulse  absent,  or 
subservient  to  ulterior  ends. 

No  duty  is  more  imperatively  incumbent  upon  the 
Church  than  the  rectifying  of  the  world’s  social 
treatment  of  the  problem,  or  the  revision  of  its 
judgments  in  respect  to  sins  of  the  flesh. 

In  no  matter  is  it  more  necessary  to  distinguish 
between  sins  of  infirmity  and  deadly  sin. 

Sin  can  never  be  venial,  for  all  sin  is  deadly  if 
persisted  in,  but  the  Church  must  discriminate 
between  the  sin  that  is  deadly  and  the  sinful  acts 
which  may  fall  short  of  it ;  for  by  deadly  sin  is  meant 
a  rooted  sin — a  sin ’of  habit  or  character  which  is 
the  source  of  many  other  sins,  while  sins  of  infirmity 
are  sins  of  impulse,  rieither  inherent  in  character 
nor  confirmed  by  habit. 

One  assertion  must  be  absolute  :  the  Church  can 
recognize  no  other  union  as  permissible  other  than 
Marriage  ;  for  every  other  form  of  association  in¬ 
volves  injustice,  insecurity,  or  infamy. 

Since  the  basis  of  the  matrimonial  contract  is 
the  acknowledged  attachment  of  a  mutual  Love,  it 
evidently  requires  for  its  perfect  realization  that 
which  Christian  Marriage  demands  in  respect  to  the 

F 


66  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


marriage  tie — that  it  should  be  a  voluntary  exclusive 
union  between  a  single  pair  indissoluble  till  death — 
while  the  consummation  of  such  a  marriage  is 
obviously  prepared  by  lives  of  antecedent  continence 
on  the  part  of  those  who  contract  it. 

The  advanced  civilization  of  modem  life  has 
undoubtedly  refined  and  extended  the  companion¬ 
ship  of  wedded  life,  and  hence  it  is  the  more  to  be 
regretted  that  the  attendant  artificial  conditions 
inevitably  tend  to  defer  or  impede  the  possibility 
of  entrance  upon  the  state  of  matrimony. 

When  Marriage,  however,  is  possible,  the  ends 
of  marriage  have  become  reversed  in  importance, 
for  when  the  Marriage  is  one  of  wedded  Love,  the 
supreme  importance  of  the  relation  is  found  in  the 
mutual  society,  help,  and  comfort  (both  spiritual 
and  temporal),  which  the  one  has  of  the  other  ;  the 
second  ground  for  matrimony  still  remaining  of 
undiminished  importance ;  while  the  desire  for 
children  follows  as  a  matter  of  course — though  not 
unintelligently,  regardlessly,  or  irresponsibly.  That 
such  marriages,  contracted  early  and  regulated 
accordingly,  are  the  greatest  possible  security  for 
Purity  and  the  due  of  the  young  to-day,  calls  for  a 
recognition  and  encouragement  not  always  tendered 
even  by  the  Church. 

Before  this,  the  struggle  of  Boyhood  finds  its 
most  inspiring  incitement  in  the  spirit  of  “  noblesse 
oblige,”  as  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  the  Knights 
of  Christ  and  who  owe  reverence  to  all  womanhood 
for  love  of  their  Mother,  a  motive  augmented  later, 
in  young  Manhood,  by  thought  “  for  the  sake  ”  of 
the  Wife  that  may  be  ;  by  a  deep  conviction  of  the 
weakness  that  acknowledges  defeat — except  to  seek 
the  Divine  forgiveness  at  once,  and  at  the  same 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  67 


time  once  more  renew  effort  by  the  Divine  help 
besought — together  with  a  vivid  sense  of  the  sinful¬ 
ness  alike  of  self-confidence  and  despair  ;  and  by 
habitual  reception  of  Holy  Communion. 

The  further,  practical,  considerations  which  follow 
also  demand  attention,  if  the  delicacy  of  the  problem 
and  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  it  involves  are 
to  be  fairly  faced  or  fully  met. 

No  warning  against  “  the  first  sin  ”  is  needed  so 
strongly  as  in  the  case  of  illicit  intercourse  between 
the  sexes  ;  for  the  very  naturalness  of  the  instinct, 
act,  and  gratification,  tends  to  mask  the  falsity  of 
the  position  ;  disposes  to  its  confirmed  adoption,  and 
implants — at  any  rate  in  the  case  of  men — an  often 
indelible  craving  for  the  satisfaction  of  a  want 
become  natural  out  of  due  course. 

No  appeal,  once  felt,  is  foregone  with  such  diffi¬ 
culty,  especially  when  the  associated  familiarity, 
homeliness  and  intimacy  of  the  relation,  impinges 
on  a  lonely,  dull,  and  straitened  life. 

From  the  time  of  its  inception,  men  are  liable 
to  become  engrossed  in  sexuality,  especially  at  certain 
periods  of  life  or  under  certain  circumstances,  but 
never  more  than,  when  debarred  of  absorbing 
“  hobbies,"  deprived  of  pleasurable  excitements,  or 
debarred  from  free  association  with  social  equals  of 
corresponding  age  and  of  the  other  sex,  when  over¬ 
wrought  or  over-anxious. 

Even  the  essential  discipline  in  physical  abstin¬ 
ence,  is  very  liable  insensibly  to  drift  apart  from  the 
preservation  of  mental  purity  ;  in  the  struggle  to  be 
continent,  the  mind  is  abnormally  sensitive  to  im¬ 
pressions,  and  readily  becomes  excessively — and 
therefore,  morbidly — absorbed  in  just  those  interests 
which  are,  for  the  time,  best  largely  left  aside. 


68  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Nor  is  this  the  only  deterioration  against  which 
a  continent  life  has  to  guard  ;  although  the  possible 
extravagances  in  marriage,  of  a  life  continent  before 
marriage,  are  deprived  of  serious  harmfulness,  when 
met  with  a  wise  understanding  of  their  cause  and  a 
deep  appreciation  of  the  value  of  that  which  they 
accompany — finding  as  they  do,  their  best  corrective, 
in  the  swift  reaction  of  instinctive  delicacy  sure  to 
ensue. 

Since  true  purity  consists  in  reverence  for  sex, 
not  in  aversion  from  it,  the  natural  craving,  with 
each  stage  of  development,  to  know  its  meaning  at 
that  stage,  has  the  fullest  right  to  complete  satisfac¬ 
tion — and  the  normal  stages  of  due  knowledge 
appear  to  be  successively,  the  individual  bodily 
structure — with  a  preliminary  suggestion  of  its 
function ;  then,  its  complement,  and  the  actual 
relation  of  the  sexes  ;  and  finally,  the  character  and 
consequences  of  their  intercourse,  as  it  exists  in 
human  life. 

In  the  case  of  the  more  inquiring  sex,  a  knowledge 
that  there  is  a  cycle  of  development  in  specific 
function,  and  the  approximate  ages  of  its  inception, 
growth,  maturity,  full  activity  and  decline,  possessed 
early  in  its  course — is  indispensable  to  check  the 
evolution  of  a  crude  philosophy  of  life,  as  permeated 
and  ruled  throughout  by  sexual  passion  ;  just  as  a 
plain  understanding  of  the  real  aspect  and  direct 
service  of  the  parts  of  primary  character  in  the  other 
sex,  well  replaces  the  vague  allurements  conjured 
up  by  the  ardent  imagination  of  ignorant  youth. 

For  both  sexes,  some  knowledge  of  such  secondary 
characters  as  distinctive  temperament  is  necessary 
in  early  maturity,  since  the  ascription  of  identically 
like  passions  to  the  two  sexes,  may  easily  occasion 


THE  BENEFIT  OF  ABSOLUTION  69 

undue  anxiety  for  settlement,  when  the  affections 
are  deeply  engaged,  or  an  equally  undue  satisfaction 
without  it,  as  well  as  premature  disappointment 
after  it ;  while  it  also  discourages  false  views  of  life 
and  the  motives  that  sway  it,  dangerous  to  innocence, 
and  dangerously  misleading  to  ignorance,  in  social 
life. 

Shock  to  cherished  ideals  of  life,  or  breakdown  in 
fundamental  ways  of  regarding  it,  not  only  always 
cause  such  immediate  distress,  but  are  also  alike  so 
unsettling  to  mind  and  character,  and  leave  so  in¬ 
delible  an  impress  upon  both,  that  no  necessity  can 
be  more  imperative  than  that  they  should  be  formed 
in  real  correspondence  with  nature  and  therefore 
truly  worthy  of  it. 

The  extended  discipline  in  continence  for  men, 
is  in  close  correspondence  with  the  prolonged 
adolescence  of  women,  both  attaining  the  nubile 
condition  in  the  lustrum  after  majority ;  it  is 
invaluable,  therefore,  both  in  establishing  and  con¬ 
serving  the  virility  of  a  wholesome  frame,  and  in 
favouring  insight  into  the  complex  nature,  ends,  and 
obligations  of  life  ;  while  above  all,  it  chastens  the 
affections,  develops  self-control,  nourishes  and  fixes 
ideals,  and  generally — conduces  to  form  a  character 
of  moral  integrity,  mental  clarity,  spiritual  insight, 
personal  charm,  and  singular  influence. 


ESSAY  VI 

THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE 

The  Analogy  of  Nature  and  Revelation  is  in  nothing, 
seen  to  be  due  to  origin  from  one  Author,  more  than 
in  the  Sacramental  Principle  running  through  both. 

All  the  outward  products  of  man’s  activity 
exhibit  that  Principle  and  the  sovereign  sway  of 
all  Art  is  based  upon  it ;  for  the  outward  product 
of  man’s  thought  and  active  skill  bear  the  impress 
of  his  whole  personality,  and  witness  to  the  nature 
of  him,  who  wrought  them  in  the  entirety  of  his 
personality ;  moreover,  they  not  only  bear  the 
impress  of  his  nature  in  the  totality  of  his  powers, 
they  are  instinct  with  the  power  and  energy  of  that 
which  they  reveal  and  from  which  they  spring ;  so 
that  they  “  affect  us,”  that  is,  produce  “  effects 
in  us,”  being  charged  with  the  creative  potency  of 
that  life  from  which  they  originate  and  upon  which 
they  therefore  depend. 

So  all  Nature  is  sacramental — an  embodied 
Revelation  of  God  Himself,  vivified  with  the  energiz¬ 
ing  power  of  Him  Who  created  it  and  Who  immanent 
therein  sustains  it. 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  71 

Hence  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church  are  not  to 
be  conceived  of  as  exclusive  or  sole  channels  of 
Sacramental  Grace  ;  but  as  Revealed  and  therefore 
"  necessary  ” — exhibitive,  illuminative,  and  pre¬ 
eminent  Means  of  specific  Grace. 

The  exhibition  of  the  Sacramental  Principle 
culminates  in  the  Incarnation  of  our  Lord. 

The  Incarnation  is  supremely  Sacramental,  both 
as  the  Revelation  of  the  unseen  Father  in  the 
Incarnate  Son  and  in  its  revelation  of  Grace 
as  well  as  truth,  of  spiritual  energy  as  well  as 
reality. 

Accordingly,  Revealed  Religion,  in  its  absolute 
form,  is  essentially  Sacramental  also. 

The  Sacraments  must  never  be  regarded  apart 
from  their  preparation.  Judaism,  it  is  true,  was 
symbolical  rather  than  sacramental,  because  im¬ 
perfect  ;  yet  it  nurtured  the  Sacramental  Sense 
until  He  came. 

In  Christianity,  the  sacramental  character  of  the 
One  Religion  is  fully  manifested,  until  He  come 
again  ;  yet  realized  through  a  further  gradual  pre¬ 
paration  than  that  afforded  in  Judaism. 

Anticipated  by  mysterious  discourses,  the  Sacra¬ 
ments  were  at  length  instituted  under  the  most 
impressive  circumstances  ;  the  one,  before  the  Death, 
to  witness  to  an  everlasting  Presence  ;  the  other, 
before  the  Ascension,  to  witness  to  a  never-ending 
Fellowship  ;  until,  when  the  completeness  of  the 
gift  was  assured  at  Pentecost,  Baptism  became  the 


72  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

first  Apostolic  Counsel,  and  the  Breaking  of  Bread 
the  first  Christian  Practice. 

The  contrast  between  this  fact  and  the  com¬ 
paratively  small  place  subsequently  occupied  in 
the  Apostolic  Letters  by  the  Sacraments  is  amply 
accounted  for  on  a  threefold  ground  :  partly  by  the 
preparedness  of  those  addressed  to  accept  them, 
just  as  to-day  little  stress  is  laid  upon  Theistic 
Apology  in  Church  ;  partly  through  the  unquestion¬ 
ing  use  of  them  by  those  who  were  converts,  for 
strife  over  the  Sacraments  did  not  arise  till  Mediaeval 
times  ;  and,  to  some  extent,  doubtless — from  the 
discipline  of  silence  towards  those  without,  necessary 
to  avoid  the  profanation  of  sacred  things  by  those 
incapable  of  appreciating  them,  according  to  the 
precept  of  our  Lord  Himself,  and  to  avoid  mis¬ 
understanding  of  the  Christian  practice,  since 
heathen  calumnies  were  to  be  refuted,  as  the  Apostles 
taught,  by  life  rather  than  explanation. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  very  indirectness  of 
Apostolic  allusion  shows  the  familiarity  and  accepted¬ 
ness  of  Sacramental  Usage  and  Doctrine,  since  it 
is  only  to  familiar  and  accepted  matters  that 
“  allusion  ”  can  be  made. 

The  above  considerations,  then,  fully  explain 
why  greater  prominence  is  not  found  to  be  given 
to  Sacramental  Doctrine  and  Observance  in  formal 
shape  in  the  Apostolic  Epistles. 

In  harmony  with  the  position  suggested,  yet  all 
the  more  significantly,  on  turning  to  the  Gospels, 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  73 

it  is  to  be  observed  that  they  contain  not  only  the 
brief,  if  pregnant,  record  of  the  Institution  of  the 
Sacraments,  such  as  the  “  facts  "  of  the  case  would 
require  in  Historic  Memoirs  of  that  character,  but 
also  what  might  not  be  anticipated,  very  full  pre¬ 
ceding  discourses  regarding  their  essential  and  under¬ 
lying  principles. 

So,  again,  the  Sacramental  Principle  in  the 
Early  Church  displays  itself  from  the  earliest 
sub-apostolic  times  and  bears  no  appearance  of 
being  introduced  as  a  corruption  from  without  or 
of  having  been  formulated  through  external  in¬ 
fluence,  whilst  its  characteristics  are  such  as  would 
mark  an  apostolic  “  tradition,"  if  we  can  judge  by 
the  existing  apostolic  writings. 

The  practice  and  teaching  of  the  primitive 
Church,  both  in  respect  to  the  simplicity  of  the 
outward  part  and  the  definiteness  of  the  inward 
part  of  these  Holy  Mysteries,  stands  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  complication  and  obscurity  of 
the  heathen  mysteries,  and  hence  was  not  liable  to 
corruption  from  those  sources. 

Moreover,  neither  theory  nor  use  was  sacerdotal ; 
the  very  fact  that  there  can  be  any  question  as  to 
who  administered  them  shows  that  it  was  the  Rite 
and  not  the  Celebrant  which  was  the  centre  of 
thought  and  importance  ;  hence  these  observances 
did  not  lend  themselves  to  be  magnified  in  the 
interests  of  a  “  caste." 

But  indeed  the  difficulty  of  the  Religious  problem 


74  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

lies  not  in  the  salvation  of  “  the  soul/'  but  of  “  the 
body  ”  ;  it  was  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  of 
the  Body  that  was  the  stumbling-block,  as  it  is  the 
redemption  of  the  Body  for  which  creation  groans 
in  travail  and  waits  in  hope. 

Hence  the  Sacramental  Principle  is  not  only 
“  meet  ”  as  part  of  a  great  System,  it  is  also  “  apt  ” 
in  response  to  a  great  need. 

Since  the  normal  state  of  human  life  involves 
soul  and  body  united,  religion  must  take  impartial 
account  of  both  the  internal  and  the  external,  to 
make  complete  provision  for  the  complex  situation. 
What  God  has  joined  together  cannot  be  put  asunder 
without  most  serious  loss  and  wrong  ;  and  therefore 
Christianity  not  only  acknowledges  the  most  direct 
concern  with  body  as  with  soul,  but  also  that  the 
relation  between  the  internal  and  the  external,  the 
spiritual  and  the  material,  is  of  the  most  intimate 
nature,  the  most  far-reaching  consequences  and  the 
utmost  importance.  Any  attempt  to  dissociate 
their  elements  is  alien  to  its  practical  Genius,  and 
any  attempt  to  depreciate  either  element  is  contrary 
to  its  Catholic  Spirit.  Hence  Christianity  does  not 
despise  the  Sacraments  as  aids  to  faith,  or  under¬ 
value  them  as  means  of  grace.  They  are  in  both 
respects  absolutely  fitted  for  the  life  of  such  beings 
as  we  are,  living  in  such  a  world  as  we  live  in,  and 
they  meet  the  most  urgent  needs  that  arise  from 
both  these  conditions. 

The  Sacramental  Principle  as  an  aid  to  faith  gives 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  75 


definiteness  to  the  outgoings  of  faith  and  fulfilment 
to  the  appeal  of  faith,  doing  away  with  the  necessity 
of  mere  feeling  and  affording  consolation  to  the 
soul  oppressed  by  physical  conditions  or  temporal 
mutability. 

The  Sacraments  being  not  exclusive  in  their 
significance  but  conclusive,  even  as  the  Church  is 
in  relation  to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  they  are  the 
certainties  of  a  life  of  supernatural  confidence  and 
assurance. 

Yet  they  are  much  more  than  an  aid  to  faith, 
else  those  whose  faith  was  strong  might  dispense 
more  and  more  with  Sacraments  ;  they  are  not 
merely  occasions  of  spiritual  communion  in  grace, 
but  instruments  of  spiritual  communication  of  grace. 

Just-  as  the  Incarnation  is  the  greatest  of  all 
Sacraments,  so  the  Church  is  essentially  sacramental 
in  its  nature  and  its  activities  as  “  the  Body  of 
Christ  ” — the  Organ  of  an  invisible  Spirit,  the 
visible  organization  enshrining  an  unseen  life,  the 
especial  instrument  of  the  continual  exercise  of  the 
Power  of  Christ. 

The  additional  benefits  of  the  Sacramental 
Principle  enshrined  in  the  Sacraments  admit  of  very 
brief  statement. 

The  Sacraments  constitute  a  protest  against 
Manichaean  and  Ascetic  error  ;  they  constitute  a 
protest  against  subjective  Pelagianism,  for  grace 
is  given  and  must  be  given  before  man  can  take 
or  faith  receive  ;  they  constitute  a  witness  against 


76  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  exaggeration  of  individualism,  through  their 
existence  as  social  rites  ;  they  constitute  an  assur¬ 
ance  that  our  life  is  lived  in  a  supernatural  sphere  ; 
they  constitute  an  evidence  of  the  consecration 
of  Nature  now — the  natural  being,  so  to  speak, 
interpenetrated  by  the  spiritual — and  of  the  hope 
of  a  perfected  Bliss  in  body  and  soul  hereafter. 

The  efficacy  of  the  Sacraments  is  witnessed  at 
once  by  the  fruit  of  sainthood  and  by  the  experience 
of  believers. 

To  sum  up — 

The  existence  of  external  rites  as  Rites  charac¬ 
terizes  a  religion  of  Law — of  Works  ;  the  existence 
of  external  rites  as  Sacraments  belongs  to  a  religion 
of  Grace — of  Faith. 

The  existence  of  Sacraments  is  a  witness  to  the 
need  of  “  grace.” 

The  fewness  of  the  Sacraments  is  a  witness  to 
the  potency  of  grace  ;  the  use  of  Sacraments  so 
simple,  so  few,  so  exceptional  in  character,  a  Test 
of  Faith  ;  the  Institution  of  Sacraments  by  the 
Word  is  the  pledge  of  the  efficacy  of  their  institution 
and  operation. 

The  two  great  sacraments  of  the  Gospel  are  in 
kind ,  “  universally  necessary  ”  to  man  generically, 
even  though  they  cannot  be  said  to  be  so  in  opera¬ 
tion  to  men  individually,  being  here  in  Earth  at 
least  necessary  to  “  salvation,”  that  is  to  spiritual 
health,  hereafter  being  left  in  God’s  hands  and  to 
His  love. 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  77 

Hence  it  has  been  often  pointed  out  that  God 
is  not  bound — in  the  way  of  limitation — by  the 
Sacraments,  but  we  are - bound  to  seek  the  grace 
of  God,  by  the  definite  means  of  grace  which  He  has 
revealed  to  us,  not  without  them  or  even  as  if  apart 
from  them. 

The  due  use  of  the  Sacraments  is  of  infinitely 
greater  importance  than  the  exhaustive  explanation 
of  their  character — if,  indeed,  such  be  possible  to  us — 
for  how  we  may  and  can  benefit  by  them  is  a  more 
profitable  question  than  how  they  can  benefit  us. 
Hence  the  Church,  for  instance,  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  directs  us  rather  to  consider  how  we 
may  profitably  enjoy  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ 
and  duly  receive  them,  rather  than  to  consider  how 
they  are  present,  or  how  they  are  bestowed. 

THE  SANCTITY  OF  THE  BODY 

The  sanctity  of  the  body  is  far  too  often  over¬ 
looked,  ignored,  or  underrated.  As  “  our  lower 
nature,”  it  is  often  put  forward  as  affording  a  crude 
explanation  for  the  origin  of  evil,  and  even  as  a  ready 
excuse  for  its  practice. 

Man  has  a  lower  nature — but  it  is  his  fallen  nature, 
not  his  body  as  body. 

His  degradation  and  depravity  has  its  root  in  a 
warped  personality ;  and  although  the  body  is 
debased  to  bear  fruits  of  bitterness  and  manifest 
"  what  spirit  we  are  of,”  in  deeds  for  which  we  shall 
be  judged,  yet  “  sins  ”  are  but  the  evidence  of  blight, 
when  "  sin  ”  cankers  and  corrupts  the  core  of  life 
within. 


78  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


If  men  dread  “  a  sin  ”  more  than  “  to  be  sinful  ” 
it  is  because  the  punishment  of  ”  a  sin  ”  is  often  more 
speedy,  temporal,  and  evident,  than  the  retribution 
that  falls  upon  the  nature  whence  it  sprang. 

The  Christian  can  certainly  never  accept  the  body 
of  man  as  “  our  lower  nature/’  except  in  respect  to 
its  subordination  to  human  personality. 

When  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  it  can  only  be 
said  that  He  took  again  upon  Him  a  Body  which  was 
the  Body  of  His  Glory,  and  “  a  lower  nature,”  only 
in  reference  to  the  Divine. 

It  is  true  that  the  body  of  man  is  as  yet  “  a  body 
of  humiliation,”  which  through  sin  may  indeed  be 
made  only  too  easily,  the  body  of  shame  ;  but,  so 
far  as  its  destiny  is  concerned,  destined  to  be  “  a 
glorious  body  ”  through  grace. 

So  long  as  Christ  sits  at  the  Right  Hand  of  God, 
a  mean  estimation  of  the  body  ought  to  be  impossible, 
as  impossible  as  it  will  be  when  He  comes  again  and 
we  see  Him  as  He  is. 

For  there,  in  highest  heaven,  abides — not  soul 
alone,  but  body  also  ;  a  glorified  humanity  which 
holds  the  supreme  place  that  heaven  or  earth  affords. 

We  have  indeed  no  scale  to  measure  the  relative 
value  or  dignity  of  parts  of  our  complex  being. 

If  it  be  remembered  that  it  is  directly  through 
Sense  that  Beauty  is  revealed  to  us — as,  through 
Mind,  Order ;  and  Holiness,  through  Conscience — 
and  that  it  is  the  whole  God-given  and  God-wrought 
being  of  man,  which  together  evidences  and  wit¬ 
nesses  to  His  perfect  “  goodness  ”  shown  in  “  perfect 
love,”  men  would  hesitate  long,  before  they  dared 
to  impute  any  intrinsic  inferiority  to  the  Body — or, 
even,  to  emphasize  any  inferiority  of  relation  as 
characterizing  it. 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  79 

The  truth  is  too  often  neglected,  too  rarely  taught, 
too  little  dwelt  upon,  too  little  acted  up  to,  that  the 
Consecration  of  the  Body  is  a  greater  thing  than  any 
renunciation  of  the  flesh  can  be. 

Men  hesitate  to  prostitute  their  minds,  still  more 
their  spiritual  capacities,  because  they  have  learned 
something  of  their  dignity  and  realize  something  of 
their  value,  as  well  as  power.  Christ’s  Redemption, 
the  life  of  an  Incarnate  Lord  and  the  Consecration 
of  an  Indwelling  Spirit,  should  move  men  in  as  noble 
a  disdain  and  as  reverent  an  awe,  to  abstain  from 
prostituting  the  bodies  they  too  lightly  desecrate. 

For  the  body  of  man  is  his  eternal  inheritance 
every  whit  as  much  as  the  soul — as  much  “his,”  as 
much  an  integral  part  of  “  himself.” 

Hence  the  Ideal  for  humanity  is  neither  self- 
indulgence  nor  self-renunciation,  but  self-complete¬ 
ness  by  an  entire  growth  in  godliness  through  the 
sanctifying  vision  of  God  which  purity  alone  ensures, 
until  man  becomes  “  self-complete  ”  indeed,  but  not 
self-completed — for  he  becomes  self-complete  alone 
“  in  Christ,”  according  to  the  Apostolic  declaration, 
“  The  life  that  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  ;  yet 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me.” 

Certainly  few  words  are  more  pregnant  in  mean¬ 
ing,  or  more  potent  in  application,  than  the  petition 
in  the  Prayer  of  Humble  Access,  “  That  our  sinful 
bodies  may  be  made  clean  by  His  Body.” 

Before  the  sanctity  of  the  body  can  be  duly 
impressed  by  Religion,  preliminary  secular  provision 
must  be  made — of  good  food,  air  and  water,  proper 
sanitation,  decent  dwellings — and  the  wholesome 
recreation  that  is  supplied  by  variety  of  occupation, 
sufficient  leisure,  and  so  far  as  may  be,  some  change 
of  possible  surroundings.  In  this  connection  must 


8o  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


be  added  the  grave  need  to  remember  that,  as  has 
been  admirably  said,  “  The  business  of  the  Churches 
is  not  to  lay  down  the  law  in  economic  matters  any 
more  than  in  questions  of  medical  (or,  say,  astrono¬ 
mical)  science,  but  to  convince  their  adherents  that 
no  man  is  a  thorough  Christian  if  he  is  content  to 
accept  the  existence  of  human  misery  produced  by 
economic  causes  as  inevitable,  and  that  all  Christians 
without  exception  are  bound  to  promote  whatever 
economic  changes  are,  in  their  conscientious  con¬ 
viction,  for  the  good  of  society  as  a  whole,  without 
regard  to  their  own  interests.” 

GRACE  AND  THE  MEANS  OF  GRACE 
i.  The  Nature  of  Grace. 

In  the  phenomenal  realm  we  are  accustomed  to 
conceive  of  the  phenomena  of  Matter  and  Motion,  as 
ultimately  due  to  “  configuration  ”  in  an  immaterial 
medium  ;  hence,  therefore,  it  is  legitimate  to  draw 
an  image,  under  which  to  shadow  forth  the  nature 
of  Grace  in  spiritual  things — conceiving  of  "  Grace  ” 
being,  as  it  were,  the  Energy  arising  from  the  Divine 
disposition  towards  us,  as  well  as  the  state  of  Divine 
favour  in  which  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being,  when  Nature  is  harmonized  and  attuned  to  God. 

It  is  only  when  we  proceed  to  conceive  of  grace 
as  an  energy,  that  we  are  able  to  speak  of  "  grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need.” 

This  conception  of  grace  as  an  energy,  appears 
the  true  corrective  of — 

(1)  The  Mediaeval  realistic  view  of  grace  as  a 
quasi-substance. 

(2)  The  modern  rationalistic  view  of  grace  as 
simply  a  recognized  state  of  favour. 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  81 


Grace  is  then  essentially  that  aspect  of  favour 
{\cipig)  under  which  God  exhibits  Himself  to  those 
on  whom  He  has  compassion  and  to  whom  He 
reveals  Himself  as  well  pleased. 

But  the  favour  of  God  is  no  mere  passive  attitude 
—it  is  like  the  glories  of  the  face  of  the  sun  on  high, 
it  cannot  be  unveiled  without  shining,  and  its  energy 
is  the  sunlight  of  the  soul.  Hence  grace  is  also  God's 
help  ;  as  well  as  the  gifts  (xapiapara)  which  proceed 
from  His  favour  to  our  help — chiefest  among  these 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  the  "  life-giver,"  “  the 
spirit  of  life,"  Whose  sevenfold  gifts  bring  spiritual 
distinction  and  beauty  to  the  grace-full  life  that 
develops  Christian  “  graces." 

2.  The  Characteristics  of  Grace. 

Grace,  hence,  is  characterized  as — 

(a)  Gratia  gratum  faciens,  i.e. — 

(1)  that  which  makes  to  appear  gracious, 
graceful. 

(2)  that  which  makes  grateful,  acceptable. 

(b)  Gratia  gratis  data,  i.e.  a  gift  freely  given  (like 

the  sunshine  and  the  rain,  cf.  Gospels). 

3.  The  Efficacies  of  Grace. 

The  Light  is  a  Parable  of  “  Grace." 

(a)  “  The  light  is  sweet  and  a  pleasant  thing  it  is 

for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun." 

(b)  The  light  makes  the  plant  to  grow. 

(c)  Bacteria  cannot  live  in  the  light,  they  die — 

burnt  out,  purged  away. 

(d)  Grace  is  as  necessary  to  good  works,  as  the 

light  to  the  mellowing  of  the  fruits  of  the 

earth. 

(e)  Grace  is  as  necessary  to  perseverance  as  light 

for  the  works  of  man. 

G 


82  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


4.  The  Means  of  Grace  (xapicr/m) . 

(1)  The  means  of  grace  are  the  means  whereby 
we  receive  God’s  gifts  (x« pt<r par  a). 

(2)  They  are  also  the  assurances,  not  only  of  His 
gifts,  but  also  of  His  favour  (\apig). 

(а)  The  means  of  grace  may  be  altogether  in¬ 

visible  (inward  acts  of  devotion),  or,  with 
outward  pledges  and  signs  (sacraments). 

(б)  A“  means  ”  is — 

either  (1)  that  which  conduces  to  an  end,  an 
Instrument,  e.g.  The  colours  on  the 
palette  of  a  painter  are  the  material 
"  means  ”  to  his  art — his  brushes  and 
paint  are  “  instruments.” 

The  means  of  grace,  in  general,  are  instruments, 
not  only  assuring  us  of  the  favour  of  God,  but  also — 
by  their  use — conducing  to  the  maintenance  of  that 
favour. 

or  (2)  that  which  conveys  a  thing  as  its 
vehicle  or  channel,  e.g.  The  books  in 
the  library  of  a  student  are  the  intellec¬ 
tual  “  means  ”  to  learning,  because 
they  convey  to  him  the  thoughts  of 
others — his  books  are  vehicles  of 
thought. 

The  means  of  grace  that  are  sacramental,  are  also 
vehicles  of  grace,  conveying  to  us  divine  gifts, 
according  to  the  divine  purpose  and  institution. 

(c)  Yet  the  means  of  grace  are  moral  means,  i.e. 
they  require  due  use,  and  a  right  spirit  in 
using  them. 

The  colours  of  the  painter,  the  books  of  the 
student,  cannot  benefit  unless  used  rightly,  and  the 
thing  aimed  at  cannot  be  attained  without  using 
them. 


THE  SACRAMENTAL  PRINCIPLE  83 


The  education  of  the  artist,  the  discipline  of  the 
thinker,  are  but  the  preparation  for  the  further,  the 
fullest  and  best  use  of  the  means  at  their  command. 

So  the  leading  and  training  of  the  individual  soul, 
the  lessons  of  spiritual  experience ;  so  faith  and 
repentance,  are  preparations  for  the  means  of  grace 
and  their  due  employment  and  enjoyment,  and  can 
be  no  substitute  for  them. 

5.  The  Virtue  of  Grace. 

Grace  is  marked  in  a  singular  degree  by  "  vitality.” 
Although  grace  may  be  resisted  either  by  indifference, 
despite,  or  habitual  sin,  and  such  resistance  is  in 
the  end  deadly,  yet  it  nevertheless  remains  true  that 
the  graces  of  a  Saint  are  the  fruition  of  the  “  grace  ” 
bestowed  upon  a  Sinner  and  are  perfected  out  of  it, 
for  “  grace  ”  begets  "  graces/' 


ESSAY  VII 

THE  SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  AND  BLOOD 

OF  CHRIST 

There  is  a  most  striking  contrast  between  the  tone 
of  popular  thought  to-day  concerning  the  Sacrament 
and  that  of  the  sub-apostolic  age,  both  in  respect 
to  the  fulness  of  recognition  by  the  latter  of  Eucharis¬ 
tic  Sacrifice  and  in  its  direct  appreciation  of  the  Gift 
as  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

This  makes  all  the  more  significant  the  fact  that 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  were  never  regarded 
as  material  for  the  Sacrifice  :  there  is  no  recognition 
of  any  Oblation  of  the  Gift  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ  in  the  Eucharist. 

Any  attempt  to  derive  this  colouring  from  the 
influence  of  the  heathen  mysteries,  completely 
breaks  down  before  the  significance  of  the  words 
of  Justin  Martyr  respecting  them. 

The  true  source  of  both  thoughts  is  to  be  found 
in  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles  and  the  institution 
of  Christ. 

The  Church's  indebtedness  to  the  primal  tradi¬ 
tion  is  fully  seen  in  the  character  of  the  New 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  85 


Testament  records,  teachings  and  allusions,  respect¬ 
ing  the  subject. 

The  whole  Rite,  by  historic  association,  language, 
acts  and  setting,  is  enveloped  in  a  sacrificial 
atmosphere ;  as  is  proper  and  inevitable  to  a 
Sacrificial  Feast  upon  a  Divinely  accepted  Offering  ; 
the  echoes  of  Propitiatory  Sacrifice  linger  around  its 
Eucharistic  Memorial. 

From  the  first,  Type  and  Prophecy  were  alike 
cited  as  foreshadowing  the  Rite  of  the  New  Covenant 
— Melchizedek’s  offering  of  bread  and  wine  to  the 
Father  of  the  faithful  was  invested  with  mystic 
meaning. 

The  prophecy  of  Malachi  (i.  11)  was  universally 
interpreted  of  the  Eucharist.  Its  mention  of  the 
Mincha,  presented  the  Hebrew  equivalent  to  the 
thought  of  the  great  Anamnesis,  used  as  it  was  of  the 
shewbread  as  a  Eucharistic  thankoffering,  a  sacrifice 
of  gratitude,  tribute  and  homage. 

This  Prophecy  is  referred  to  the  Eucharist  from 
the  earliest  times. 

That  its  application  must  be  spiritualized  to 
suit  the  richer  nature  of  the  new  Offering — filled  with 
a  grace  the  older  never  possessed — is  evident  by  the 
consideration  that  a  parallelism  between  Bread  of 
the  Eucharist  and  Shewbread,  Incense,  and  Incense, 
would  imply  a  material  offering  merely  ;  whereas, 
if  the  Shewbread  was  a  figure  of  the  Sacramental 
Thing,  and  incense,  of  Prayer,  the  spiritual  wealth 
and  reality  of  the  Offering  is  strikingly  emphasized, 


86  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


not  by  an  inadequate  comparison,  but  by  the 
implied  contrast. 

There  is  indeed  a  real  difference  between  Christian 
Sacrament  and  any  Jewish  Ordinance  :  both  may 
be,  alike,  “  seals  ”  and  “  evidences  ”  of  a  Covenant, 
but  here  resemblance  ends ;  and  strange  consequences 
often  follow  any  unconscious  reversion  of  standpoint 
— thus,  Calvinism  is  a  masked  return  to  Judaic 
thought. 

Neglect  of  this  difference  has  been  the  occasion 
of  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  right  estimate 
of  the  Dignity  of  the  Sacraments. 

For  the  institution  of  Sacraments  is  only  a 
stumbling-block,  if  they  are  merely  symbolical 
“  of  the  letter  ”  ;  the  case  is  far  otherwise  if  they 
are  really  Means  of  Grace,  “  of  the  Spirit.” 

Hence  it  is  that  the  Church  has  no  difficulty  in 
giving  them  the  greatest  prominence  in  the  spiritual 
life  of  faith  ;  whereas  alien  modes  of  thought  touch 
them  but  little  and  regard  them  as  "  ordinances/’ 
the  prominence  of  which  in  Christianity  it  is  felt 
difficult  to  justify  save  by  the  express  command  of 
Christ.  The  Sacramental  Principle  of  the  Church 
is  therefore  sometimes  accused  of  “  formality  ”  and 
“  legalism,”  because  the  Sacraments  are  being 
conceived  of  as  “  ordinances  ”  observed  by  men 
under  Divine  command ;  not  as  instruments  of 
grace  and  privilege  operating  by  the  word  of  Divine 
Institution  and  Promise ;  divested  of  life,  they 
become  depreciated  as  “  dead  works.” 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  87 


The  difference  between  Jewish  Ordinance  and 
Christian  Sacrament  is  this  :  the  one  witnessed  to 
grace  and  truth  beyond  and  outside  itself ;  the 
other  is  the  pledge  and  means  through  which  grace 
and  truth  are  brought  home  to  us. 

Even  though  “  the  old  fathers  ”  might  be 
partakers  of  “  Christ/’  they  could  not  be  partakers 
of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

The  Sacraments  are  those  "  good  things  ”  which 
"  were  to  come  ”  ;  but  as  the  sign  and  token  is 
better  than  the  shadow  or  anticipation,  so  will  the 
secrets  of  the  Unseen  World  be  better  than  the 
“  mysteries  ”  which  now  partially  reveal  them. 

Thus,  the  Excellency  of  the  Christian  Memorial 
remains  “  until  He  come.” 

Its  Solemnity  is  no  less  enhanced  in  observance 
which  is  no  chance  flash  of  remembrance,  but  a 
Perpetual  Memory,  established  of  set  purpose,  in 
sight  of  all.  The  Ancient  Liturgies  are  very  careful 
to  stimulate,  arouse  and  call  forth,  this  sense  of 
mindfulness  on  the  part  of  all  who  celebrate  the 
sacred  rite,  that  they  may  have  the  recollectedness 
befitting  those  who  stand  in  the  Presence  of  the 
Lord. 

A  careful  regard  to  the  employment  of  the  term 
in  the  Old  Testament,  would  seem  to  show  that  the 
Old  Testament  use  of  Anamnesis  is  connected  with 
sacrifices,  not  so  much  to  emphasize  the  offering 
of  the  sacrifices  as  a  memorial  to  God,  as  to  em¬ 
phasize  the  solemnity  and  sacred  awefulness  of  the 


88  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


memorial  made  “  before  God,”  by  its  association 
with  the  sacrifices  of  Divine  appointment  and 
worship  ;  the  solemnity  of  the  Memorial,  and  not 
its  direction,  is  that  on  which  emphatic  stress 
is  laid. 

The  solemnity  is  enhanced,  though  contrition 
is  changed  to  praise  and  prayer  to  thanksgiving,  in 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar — the  Altar  of 
the  Cross. 

This  view  of  the  reasons  leading  to  the  association 
of  avafAv)](jiQ  and  sacrifice,  is  confirmed  by  the  use 
of  the  expression  ttoiuv  riva,  which  in  the  lxx 
is  frequently  used  to  denote  “  to  offer  ”  or  “to 
sacrifice,”  and  more  generally,  “  to  celebrate  or 
perform  a  given  solemn  action,”  and  which  there¬ 
fore,  consequently  includes  sacrifice  but  does  not 
postulate  it. 

The  elements  of  the  Eucharistic  Offering,  present 
sacrifice  in  its  simplest  aspect  and  most  significant 
relation. 

The  unconsecrated  elements  constitute  a  thank- 
offering. 

The  only  “  Oblation  ”  (Mincha)  strictly  speaking 
in  Holy  Communion,  is  the  offering  up  of  the  fruits 
of  the  earth  and  man’s  labour,  that  God  may  make 
them  to  us  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

The  participation  of  them  after  consecration  is 
a  Feast  upon  the  Sin-offering  for  the  congregation. 

For  “  we  have  an  Altar  ”  ;  the  Jews  might  not 
partake  of  such  a  Sin-offering,  not  even  the  Priests  ; 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  89 

all  Christians,  as  alike  Priests,  partake  freely  of 
Holy  Communion  ;  and  since  their  Altar  is  the 
Cross,  their  privilege  is  greater  than  even  the  Priests 
of  the  Law  enjoyed. 

If  the  Holy  Table  is  no  more,  but  no  less,  an  Altar, 
than  those  of  the  Jewish  Dispensation,  it  is  a  far 
holier  "  Table  of  the  Lord.” 

The  whole  Sacramental  Mystery  is  a  Sacrifice 
of  Praise  and  Thanksgiving — 

1.  For  natural  sustenance  and  joys,  expressed 

in  creatures  of  bread  and  wine  ; 

2.  In  remembrance  of  an  incarnate  Lord  Who  is 

symbolized  as  Bread  of  Life  and  True  Vine. 

3.  For  spiritual  sustenance  and  refreshment 

conveyed  by  consecrated  manducation  ; 

4.  Through  a  distributive  action  which  exhibits 

the  Body  broken  and  the  Blood  shed  for 

J 

us  ; 

consummated  in 

5.  The  self-oblation  of  the  Church  in  the  person 

of  its  communicating  members,  in  union 

with  the  Lamb  upon  the  Throne. 

The  nature  and  function  of  Consecration  is  often 
misunderstood. 

It  is  not  wrought  by  priestly  recital  of  the  words 
of  Institution,  as  the  Romanists  now  teach  ;  but 
is  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  response  to  the 
actual  Invocation  of  His  overshadowing,  or  by  the 
tacit  intreaty  of  His  Power,  as  a  Divine  Response 
to  and  confirmation  of  the  Words  spoken,  the  Acts 


90  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


done,  the  Rite  observed,  according  to  the  Institution 
of  the  Word  made  Flesh. 

We  cannot  fix  the  “  moment  ”  of  Consecration, 
we  are  assured  of  its  effect. 

The  “  Prayer  of  Consecration  ”  is  a  prayer  for 
consecration,  that  God  will  act  according  to  His 
promise  for  the  fulfilment  of  His  purpose  ;  it  is  not 
a  Canon  of  consecration  by  the  recital  of  certain 
words  of  which  the  Priest  makes  a  Sacrament. 

Before  consecration,  the  bread  and  wine  are 
types  of  the  Bread  of  Life  and  of  the  true  Vine, 
that  is  of  Christ ;  after  consecration,  the  bread 
and  wine  are  types  and  Sacraments  of  the  Body 
and  Blood — the  living  Humanity — of  the  Lord. 

Consecration  is,  in  order  to  Communion  and  not 
to  sacrifice  ;  although  it  involves  the  oblation  of 
gifts,  and  connotes  Sacrifice  alike  as  its  foundation 
and  its  consummation. 

Similarly,  it  is  the  whole  “  action/’  not  the  con¬ 
secrated  elements  alone,  which  forms  the  Memorial. 
Doing  as  Christ  did,  speaking  as  Christ  spoke, 
eating  and  drinking  as  Christ  administered,  con¬ 
stitutes  the  Memorial ;  not  merely  the  bread 
broken  and  the  wine  poured  out,  however  greatly 
sanctified. 

Neither  Christ,  nor  yet  His  Body  and  Blood, 
are  in  any  “  proper,”  strict  or  true  sense  “  offered  ” 
by  us  in  the  Sacrament,  consequently  the  Rite  can 
only  be  termed  “  propitiatory  ”  in  a  very  secondary 
sense,  as  dependant  on  the  meritorious  sacrifice  of 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  91 

the  Cross  ;  nevertheless  the  Eucharist  is  an  effectual 
Memorial,  for  the  merits  of  our  Lord's  sacrificial 
activity,  inherent  in  His  incarnate  Person  and 
indissociable  therefrom,  are  therein  presented  before 
men  and  proffered  to  God. 

The  Eucharist  is  an  effectual  memorial,  because 
in  It  we  “  show  forth  "  the  Lord's  death,  the  one 
Act  of  Sacrifice  once  offered  upon  the  one  Altar  of 
the  Cross,  in  the  way  our  Lord  Himself  appointed. 

In  heaven,  the  Lord's  death  is  "  shown  forth  " 
by  the  Presence  of  His  human  Nature  at  the  Right 
Hand  of  God  ;  not  in  act  of  Sacrifice,  but  in  potency 
of  Sacrifice  ;  the  same  prevailing  Presence  reveals 
its  intercessory  appeal  “  before  God,"  in  our  com¬ 
memorative  celebration  of  Him  on  earth  ;  showing 
forth  all  the  power  of  His  atoning  Death,  and  con¬ 
vening  all  its  benefits  to  the  faithful  soul,  giving 
access  to  the  Throne  of  Grace  by  “  a  newly-slain  yet 
living  way,"  and  a  sanction  to  our  petitions  for 
ourselves  and  others  “  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord." 

In  heaven,  the  marks  of  our  Lord's  Passion  are 
the  seal  of  an  accomplished  propitiatory  work,  and 
not  tokens  of  continuation  in  that  “  Victim-state  " 
which  was  essential  to  its  completion. 

The  presence  of  Christ  in  His  incarnate  Person, 
is  necessary  in  the  Eucharist  to  the  valuefaction 
of  our  acts  as  regards  the  Memorial  of  Himself, 
supematurally  present  yet  really  so. 

The  Presence  of  Christ  in  His  Humanity  is  no 


92  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


less  necessary  in  the  Eucharist  to  the  bestowal  of 
His  grace  as  regards  the  Communion  in  His  Humanity 
received  under  the  aspects  of  that  Body  and  that 
Blood  which  are  therein  mystically  shared  and 
really  partaken  of. 

The  words  “  broken  for  you  ”  and  “  shed  for 
you  ”  are  indeed  full  of  significance  ;  the  Body 
“  broken  for  you  ”  is  a  Body  “  given  ”  that  it  may 
be  shared  in,  and  the  expression  refers  to  the  Self- 
Oblation  of  the  victim  then  beginning  and  already 
accomplished  in  Will,  by  that  Victim  Who  in 
purpose,  offered  Himself  through  the  Eternal  Spirit 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 

To  refer  the  words  to  a  dead  Christ  is  to  evacuate 
their  significance  ;  there  is  here  not  alone  an  antici¬ 
pation  of  His  Passion,  but  its  active  beginning. 

Similarly,  the  words  “  poured  out/'  used  in 
respect  to  the  Blood,  point  not  merely  to  the  blood 
as  “  shed  ”  in  death  as  the  symbol  of  a  sacred  life 
surrendered  in  Sacrifice  to  make  atonement  for  us, 
but  to  the  blood  as  symbol  of  the  undying  life  of 
that  “  living  One  ”  Whose  blood  was  "  poured  out  ” 
that  we  might  drink  of  the  Cup  of  Salvation  and 
find  our  eternal  life  in  His. 

To  the  disciple,  the  Cup  is  the  pledge  that  the 
same  Life  which  was  being  "  given  for  you  ”  should 
also  be  life-giving  in  you. 

The  words  are  the  pledge  and  the  assurance  of 
participation  in  a  Body  and  Blood  broken  indeed  in 
death  and  shed — for  the  act  of  Love  and  Sacrifice 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  93 


is  finished  and  the  gift  given  ;  but  the  gift  was,  not 
unto  death  but  unto  wider  life. 

The  Memorial  is  not,  primarily,  of  an  Event 
however  momentous  ;  it  is  the  Memorial  of  an 
unseen  Lord,  Who  died  and  is  alive  for  evermore. 

Hence  the  Memorial  not  only  attains  its  culmina¬ 
tion  in  the  thought  of  the  Risen  Lord,  the  whole 
purpose  of  the  Rite  is  to  lead  up  to,  to  render 
possible,  and  to  bring  about  Fellowship  between 
that  Life  and  ours. 

Precious  as  is  the  fellowship  with  Christ,  as 
attained  in  other  exercises  of  spiritual  experience, 
its  realization  is  far  transcended  in  the  observance 
of  this. 

The  fruit  of  Prayer  is  spiritual  fellowship  and 
intercourse  with  Christ  Himself  and  God  in  Christ, 
communion  of  spirit  with  spirit,  of  Person  with 
Person  ;  but  the  fruit  of  Holy  Communion  is  a 
spiritual  union  with  Christ’s  Humanity — that  is  to 
say,  not  alone  a  fellowship  of  Christ’s  glorified 
Humanity  with  our  humbled  Humanity,  but  such  an 
impartation,  communication  and  participation  in 
Christ’s  Humanity  as  leads  to  the  indwelling  through 
that  Human  nature  of  Christ  Himself  in  all  the 
fulness  of  His  Person. 

For  in  this  Rite,  the  words  and  act  of  the  Word 
consecrate,  through  oblation  and  confirmation  of 
the  Spirit,  what  were  before  mere  common  and 
empty  (koivoc)  bread  and  wine  ;  and  henceforth  the 
consecrated  elements  constitute  a  Sacrament,  and 


94  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


the  Bread  and  Wine  become  the  Symbols  of  those 
Sacramental  Things  which  they  convey,  symbols  of 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

After  Consecration,  there  is  added  heavenly 
grace  to  earthly  elements,  though  the  manner  of 
this  their  conjunction  we  know  not,  save  only  that 
there  ensues  the  concomitant  presence  of  a  dual 
Nature,  of  which  the  elements  present  the  sensible 
token  and  remain  the  reliable  pledge. 

The  elements  are  not  changed  in  their  nature, 
but  in  their  association  ;  and  the  outward  parts 
of  bread  and  wine  are  then  called  by  the  names 
of  That  which  they  signify,  exhibit,  and  convey 
to  us. 

The  outward  and  visible  part,  therefore,  affords 
assurance  of  the  reality  of  the  presence  of  the 
inward  and  spiritual  grace,  but  without  in  any  way 
determining  further  the  mode  of  presence  of  that 
reality. 

As  soul  with  body,  so  the  spiritual  presence  of 
Christ  is  associated  with  the  material  element — 
being  so  far  localized  that  where  the  latter  is,  the 
former  is  present  to  our  apprehension — though  not 
as  in  a  place. 

That  which  is  received  after  consecration  is  in 
physical  nature  and  mode  of  existence,  as  cognizable 
to  sense  and  understanding,  real  bread  and  real 
wine — but  in  spiritual  reality  and  relation  to  personal 
faith,  It  is  no  less  really  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ.  Either  aspect  is  true,  but  the  whole  truth 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  95 


is  only  expressed  by  the  combined  apprehension  of 
both  aspects. 

Yet  there  is  a  sacramental  association  not  a 
sacramental  union  ;  and  the  outward  visible  part 
and  inward  spiritual  grace  can  only  be  said  to  be 
“  sacramentally  identified/’  in  so  far  as  the  one 
assures  the  other. 

The  elements  after  consecration  exist,  then,  in 
a  new  and  mysterious  relation  to  the  Humanity, 
the  human  being  and  life  of  Christ ;  they  are  not 
merely  virtually,  that  is  in  effect,  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ,  but  are  become,  as  Sacraments, 
the  effectual  channels  of  the  inherent  energy  and 
virtue  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ — whereby 
we  may,  as  it  were,  touch  Him  and  thereby  learn  that 
from  Him  proceeds  and  in  Him  abides,  healing, 
healthful,  and  redemptive  virtue  ;  and  this  “  con¬ 
secration  ”  is  realized  as  being  an  operation  of  grace, 
conscious  to  us  by  Faith,  conscious  in  Him  by 
Power. 

The  force  of  the  phrase  and  fact  of  the  “  Real 
Presence,”  may  perhaps  be  best  illustrated,  not  as 
to  manner,  but  as  to  reality,  by  a  thought  of  the 
special  presence  of  Christ  in  His  Divine  Person, 
"  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  His 
Name,”  for  that  can  only  be  conceived  of  as  a 
presence  of  extraordinary  power  and  grace — yet  it 
is  real. 

So  then,  much  more,  with  the  Humanity  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 


96  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  “  Real  Presence  ”  in  fact  is  an  ambiguous 
phrase. 

By  the  Romanist  it  is  identified  with  the  state¬ 
ment  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  ;  by  both 
Romanist  and  Lutheran  with  a  local  presence. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  "  Real  Presence  ”  means 
with  us,  the  assertion  and  safeguarding  of  the  Truth 
of  the  real  giving,  conveyance,  and  presentation  of 
the  Sacramental  Gift  in  all  its  vital  efficacy,  inde¬ 
pendent  of  our  faith,  contemplation,  or  even  use — 
that  is,  that  the  Sacrament  is  a  real  “  means  ”  or 
vehicle  of  grace  ;  not  only  a  pledge,  seal,  or  occasion 
of  grace. 

Hence  we  cannot  deny  the  Presence  to  the 
unfaithful,  though  we  deny  it  in  the  unfaithful. 

We  cannot  even  deny  the  reception  by  the  un¬ 
faithful  of  the  “  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  Christ/’  yet  we  do  deny  them  to  “  eat  ” — par¬ 
ticipate  in  Christ,  or  partake  of  Him,  Himself. 

We  deny  to  the  wicked  that  heavenly  incorpora¬ 
tion  of  the  being  and  life  of  Christ  which  is  the  seed 
of  eternal  life. 

They  receive  the  Gift,  they  do  not  take  it. 

They  eat  the  Sign  to  condemnation  but  cannot 
assimilate  the  Heavenly  Food. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  Roman  teaching 
“  substance  ”  has  often  been  understood  as  if 
material  and  carnal  substance  rather  than  the  ideal 
substance  of  school  men. 

The  Aristotelian  theory  as  to  accidents  and 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  97 


substance  is  not  “  de  fide  ”  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Communion,  save  in  regard  to  the  unique  case  of 
the  Eucharist. 

It  has  never  been  more  than  an  indeterminable 
speculation,  may  be  untrue,  and  could  only  afford 
an  unfruitful  distinction  even  if  true. 

For  it  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  the  presence 
of  a  substance  as  of  a  vital  principle  that  we  are 
concerned  to  establish — it  is  the  presence  of  Life 
rather  than  of  Being  which  is  at  issue. 

The  Real  Presence,  therefore,  need  not  mean  so 
much  a  substantial  presence  as  an  energizing  or 
vital  presence— a  presence,  however,  not  of  obsig- 
natory  graces,  but  of  the  Grace  {i.e.  the  Energy)  of 
a  living  and  glorified  Humanity. 

While,  however,  the  latter  distinction  is  empha¬ 
sized,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  this  Life 
nevertheless  undoubtedly  conveys,  and  is  imbued 
with  in  Itself  ,  all  those  benefits  which  its  outpouring 
procured  ;  which — as  exhibited,  shown  forth  and 
presented  in  the  twofold  elemental  aspects  of  the 
Eucharistic  Action — its  “  pouring  forth  ”  rendered 
available  and  which  its  "  giving  ”  distributes,  i.e. 
the  participation  in  all  the  benefits  of  the  Passion. 

The  Presence  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is,  we 
maintain,  not  “  corporal  ”  in  the  sense  of  being 
under  physical  conditions  of  time  and  space  ;  nor 
is  it  a  Presence  of  "  the  natural  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ,”  that  is,  not  of  the  sensible  albeit  spiritual 
"  Organism  ”  of  our  Blessed  Lord's  Humanity,  now 

H 


98  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


seen  alone  by  the  eye  of  Faith  ;  but  it  is  the  Presence 
of  the  Holy  Body  and  the  Holy  Blood,  so  far  as 
they  can  profit  us,  namely  as  “  Spirit  ”  and  “  Life.’’ 

That  is  to  say,  Christ  is  not  “  present  ”  in  the 
Sacrament  in  the  same  manner  as  He  is  present  in 
Heaven,  nor  in  the  same  manner  in  which  He  was 
once  on  earth,  yet  He  is  really  present,  in  the  fulness 
of  His  Human  Nature  as  well  as  His  Divine.  The 
Humanity  of  Christ  is  not  present,  merely  by 
effectual  representation,  that  is  Virtually,  in  its 
sense  of  “in  effect  ”  or  “to  all  practical  intents, 
needs  and  benefits  ”  ;  nor  is  It  only  present  indirectly 
by  virtue  of  His  Personality  as  the  incarnate  Son. 

The  Mystery  is  more  nearly  expressed  by  saying, 
that  Christ  is  present  in  His  Humanity,  by  direct 
action,  by  real  operation  and  by  immediate  influence, 
i.e.  “  present  by  spiritual  power,  though  not  by 
contiguity  of  place/’ 

Yet  even  this  form  of  stating  the  mystery  of 
The  Presence  seems  insufficient ;  we  can  shadow 
forth  the  truth  most  adequately  by  saying,  that  the 
Presence  of  Christ  in  His  Humanity  is  an  immediate 
presence  as  “  Life-giving  Spirit.’’ 

The  Presence  of  the  Humanity  of  our  Blessed 
Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  His  Body  and  His 
Blood  is — the  Presence  of  His  Human  yet  Divine 
Life,  in  the  consummate  and  complete  expression, 
its  glorified  state  assures. 

It  is  “  Spirit  ’’  and  “  Life,’’  which  are  really 
“  given,  taken  and  received,’’  “  after  a  heavenly 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  99 


and  spiritual  manner  ”  ;  and  these  are  that  “  Body  ” 
and  that  “  Blood  ”  of  which  we  “  eat  ”  and 
“  drink.” 

That  Humanity  which  was  enriched  by  the 
Incarnation,  was  not  despoiled  but  glorified  in  the 
Ascension,  for,  “  Lo  I  am  with  you  always  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.” 

Christ’s  human  nature  and  life  are  locally  absent 
indeed,  but  really  present— really  present  because 
spiritually  present,  until  He  come  again  once  more 
in  space  and  time. 

Adoration  is  due,  in  the  Eucharistic  Feast,  to 
its  giver. 

Due  “  adoration  ”  of  the  Body  and  Blood  is 
that  which  can  alone  be  paid  by  the  reverent  use 
of  the  Sacramental  Elements,  by  their  venerating 
reception — an  act  of  adoration  to  Him,  in  the  act 
of  receiving  them ;  an  act  of  adoration  to  the 
Giver  for  the  Gifts  He  gives,  not  an  adoration  of 
the  gifts  apart  from  the  giving. 

Mozley  says  well,  “  the  Body  and  Blood  in  the 
Sacrament  are  not  the  object  of  Worship  but  only 
the  occasion  of  it.” 

Because  the  Presence  of  Christ  is  assured  by 
Revelation  to  the  observance  of  the  Sacrament  of 
His  Body  and  Blood,  for  the  purpose  for  which  It 
was  ordained,  it  must  not  be  assumed  that,  there¬ 
fore,  the  Rite  affords  either  an  Object  of  Worship, 
or  a  Means  of  Grace,  apart  from  those  uses  for 
which  Revelation  has  made  it  known  to  be  ordained. 


100  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Most  serious  mischiefs  ensue  from  the  lack  of 
refusal  to  regard  as  proved  results,  positions  arrived 
at  by  logical  processes  of  reasoning,  in  a  sphere  of 
which  our  knowledge  is  too  limited  and  imperfect 
to  supply  the  assurance  of  their  validity. 

As  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sacramental 
activities  of  the  Church,  so  the  use  of  such  terms 
as  “  Priest,”  “  Altar,”  “  Oblation,”  and  “  Sacrifice,” 
is  preserved  from  serious  misconception  in  the 
actual  life  of  the  Catholic  Church,  by  that  freedom, 
fearlessness,  and  largeness — almost  looseness — of  use 
which  has  ever  marked  their  practical  employment 
within  it. 

They  become  gravely  misleading,  when  and  only 
when  accommodated  to  purposes  of  definition,  in 
such  colligations  as  "  sacrificing  priesthood,”  just 
as  does  the  accumulation  into  one,  with  the  same 
end,  of  expressions  of  different  aspects  of  sacra¬ 
mental  truth,  like  “  in,  with,  and  under  the  forms 
of  bread  and  wine.” 

To  sum  up  the  practical  aspect  of  the  whole 
question— 

Christ’s  teaching  that  His  Body  and  Blood  are 
the  food  of  eternal  life,  caused  many  to  cease  from 
following  Him. 

His  Institution  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  is  still  a  stumbling-block  to  many. 

They  are  staggered  at  His  doctrine ;  they  fail 
to  observe  His  Command. 

No  doubt  the  Belief  is  mysterious,  beyond  reason, 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  ioi 


but  it  is  not  contrary  to  it ;  far  otherwise,  for  even 
the  sustenance  of  the  body  on  earthly  creatures  is 
a  fact  beyond  our  understanding,  we  cannot  con¬ 
ceive  how  we  can  derive  our  sustenance  from  their 
elements  and  thus  build  up  our  own. 

The  great  fact  needful  to  grasp  is — it  is  not 
Faith  that  sustains  the  Soul,  it  is  Christ :  “  union 
with  Christ,”  “  Christ  within,”  that  is  no  figure  of 
speech,  it  is  the  Secret  (the  open  secret)  of  Chris¬ 
tianity. 

It  is  not  Faith  that  brings  Christ  there  ;  Faith 
receives  Him,  according  to  His  Promise,  in  His  own 
appointed  way. 

How  bread  can  be  “  to  us  ”  the  Body  of  Christ ; 
how  wine  can  be  “to  us  ”  the  Blood  of  Christ,  this 
we  cannot  explain,  but  the  faithful  soul  believes  it, 
nay,  knows  it  through  spiritual  experience. 

In  this  matter  then,  our  minds  cannot  argue 
about  the  way  in  which  Christ  is  present — we  can 
only  be  sure  of  what  He  has  told  us,  as  far  as  He  has 
told  us  and  obey. 

If  we  use  the  Sacrament  in  the  manner  He  ap¬ 
pointed  and  for  the  purpose  He  appointed,  then  we 
know  that  we  are  in  the  right  path,  and  shall  adore 
the  love  that  bestows  so  Divine  a  Gift,  and  be 
amazed  at  the  power  that  can  turn  the  common 
things  of  earth  to  such  a  sublime  employment  as 
to  make  them  the  means,  the  vehicles,  the  channels, 
by  which  men  may  partake  of  His  sinless  and 
incorruptible  humanity. 


102  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


When  the  Lord  said,  “  This  is  my  Body,”  “  This 
is  my  Blood,”  the  words  are  no  mere  figure  of 
speech,  for  He  had  taught  us  long  before  that  His 
“  Body  is  true  meat,”  and  His  “  Blood  true  drink  ”  ; 
and  in  the  Institution  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  He 
was  appointing  the  Revealed,  the  great  way  in  which 
we  are  assured  that  faith  receives  these,  for  its 
strength  and  comfort. 

What  we  need  to  be  careful  of  is — to  take  heed 
lest  we  deny  the  Reality  of  either  part  of  the  Sacra¬ 
ment  ;  it  is  true  “  bread,”  true  “  wine  ”  that  we 
see,  It  is  “  the  Body  of  Christ,”  and  “  The  Blood  of 
Christ  ”  that  is  the  inward  part,  the  unseen  Gift, 
that  is  Given,  that  “  Faith  takes  and  the  Heart 
receives.” 

How  the  outward  parts,  the  “  creatures  of  bread 
and  wine  ”  are  associated  with  the  inward  part, 
“  The  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,”  it  is  both  unprofit¬ 
able  to  inquire  too  minutely,  and  presumptuous  to 
assert  too  confidently. 

This  is  God’s  concern,  not  ours  ;  He  has  not 
revealed  the  secret  working  of  His  Grace,  and  we 
may  not  dare  to  intrude  our  explanations  where 
our  ignorance  is  so  great  and  our  Reverence  should 
be  so  deep. 

The  limits  of  space  and  time  bind  us  ;  they 
cannot  confine  the  working  of  God.  The  Connection 
between  the  bread  and  the  wine,  and  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ,  His  own  words  assure  us  is  of  the 
closest — far  more  close  than  we  can  imagine,  but 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  103 


we  must  shrink  from  and  beware  of  anything  like 
limiting  the  Real  Presence  of  the  Human  Nature  and 
Life  of  our  Lord  to  within  the  no  less  really  present 
bread  and  wine. 

A  “  Sacrament  ”  consists  of  two  parts,  of  out¬ 
ward  element  and  inward  grace,  that  we  know,  and 
we  know  also,  that  in  the  due  celebration  of  this 
Sacramental  Rite,  Christ,  in  a  Sacramental  Manner, 
bestows  on  us  His  Presence,  the  moment  When  we 
cannot  tell,  save  that  it  is  as  we  obey  His  word  ; 
and  the  manner  How  we  cannot  conceive,  save  that 
we  taste  the  sweetness  of  His  Presence. 

Above  all,  we  need  to  be  careful  lest  Unbelief 
leads  us  either  to  explain  away  the  holy  mystery  of 
Grace,  or  leads  us  to  seek  to  make  it  more  easy  to 
grasp  by  our  poor  and  earthly  understandings. 

The  Presence  of  Christ  as  in  a  place,  as  in  our 
flesh,  is  in  Heaven,  and  we  need  to  lift  up  our 
Hearts  to  the  Lord  there,  if  we  would  rightly  receive 
Him  here.  Wise  indeed  were  the  words  of  the 
great  Athanasius,  when  he  said,  “  Christ  made 
mention  of  the  Ascension  into  Heaven  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  that  He  might  draw  them  away  from  any 
bodily  conception,  and  that  they  might  understand 
further  that  the  flesh  He  had  spoken  of  meant 
heavenly  food  from  above  and  spiritual  nourishment, 
which  is  now  being  given  from  him  to  us.  ‘  For/ 
He  said,  ‘  what  I  have  been  speaking  of  to  you  is 
spirit  and  life/  Which  is  all  one  as  if  He  had  said, 
*  the  palpable  thing  given  for  the  world's  salvation 


104  first  principles  of  the  church 


is  the  flesh  which  I  now  wear  ;  but  this  flesh  and  its 
blood  shall  be  given  from  me  spiritually  as  food.’  ” 
And  no  less  needed  is  the  admonition  of  the 
Nicene  Fathers,  in  respect  to  the  Eucharistic  Sacri¬ 
fice,  when  they  bid  us  not  let  ourselves  "  lower  our 
thoughts  by  fixing  them  upon  the  bread  and  cup 
before  us/’  but  rather  lifting  up  our  minds,  then 
behold  there,  by  Faith,  upon  the  Holy  Table,  “  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world” 


THE  WORDS  OF  INSTITUTION 

It  has  been  asserted  “  that  the  longer  forms  must 
be  taken  as  the  basis  of  interpretation,”  but  this  may 
well  be  regarded  as  too  unqualified  an  assertion,  on 
consideration  of  the  following  points  : — 

1.  There  is  a  striking  similarity  between  the 
records  of  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark  on  the  one 
hand,  and  between  those  of  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul 
on  the  other — and  an  equally  striking  difference 
between  the  two  classes. 

2.  St.  Paul  certainly  claims  to  have  received  his 
account  of  the  Institution  by  direct  Revelation  from 
the  Lord  Himself ;  but  the  variations  observable 
in  the  four  records  we  possess,  prove  conclusively 
that  the  "  consecration  ”  was  not  regarded  as 
effected  in  virtue  of  the  Words  of  Institution  alone — 
this  has  grown  up  as  the  theory  of  the  West  only, 
and  the  East  regards  an  Invocation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  necessary  to  consecration — which  Invoca¬ 
tion,  in  some  Liturgies  at  least,  follows  after  the 
Words  of  Institution. 

Moreover,  it  must  not  be  forgotten — 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  105 


(a)  That  St.  Paul  had  already  delivered  to  the 
Corinthians  the  account  received  of  the  Lord. 

(b)  That  he  had  a  special  object  in  view  (Cor.  xi. 
20),  namely,  to  teach  the  Corinthians  that  the 
Eucharist  was  not  merely  a  social  Feast,  or  even 
consecrated  Social  Feast  (a  truth  they  had  evidently 
realized  and  even  abused,  and  a  familiar  aspect  to 
them,  on  which  is  founded  Argument  of  Cor.  x. 
15-21)  ;  but  that  it  is  a  true  Sacrificial  Feast  also,  a 
Feast  upon  our  Passover  sacrificed  for  us,  and  there¬ 
fore  of  great  solemnity. 

Not  only  do  the  Words  of  Institution  as  given 
by  him  emphasize  this  sense,  but  he  lays  significant 
stress  upon  “  proclaiming  the  Lord's  death  until 
He  come/’  and  adds,  “  Do  this  in  remembrance 
of  Me  ”  twice,  after  mention  of  both  elements  (a 
phrase  only  occurring  elsewhere  in  St.  Luke's  account 
and  there  in  connection  with  the  bread  alone). 

Furthermore,  the  thought  of  the  “  Feast  upon 
our  Passover  "  (1  Cor.  v.  7)  was  a  congenial  one  to 
St.  Paul,  whose  mind,  or  at  least,  whose  phraseology, 
had  a  legal  cast ;  and  to  whom  the  thought  of  the 
“  Covenant  "  meant  so  much  and  furnished  so  large 
a  base  of  argument. 

St.  Paul,  naturally,  laid  stress  upon  the  Eucharist 
as  a  Covenant  Rite  and  Seal  (and  it  was  the  percep¬ 
tion  of  this,  which  was  the  truth  in  Calvin's  erroneous 
teaching,  as  his  error  lay  in  the  exclusion  of  other 
points  of  view  and  in  making  St.  Paul  take  the 
place  of  the  Gospel  and  become  its  chief  exponent, 
and  the  sole  commentary  on  its  facts). 

Consequently,  it  seems  most  probable  that  St. 
Paul's  record  is  a  free  but  legitimate  second  render¬ 
ing  of  the  narrative  of  institution  with  special 
application  to  a  particular  case,  and  that  his  teaching 


io6  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


is  not  properly  a  basis  for  interpretation,  but  an 
expansion  of  the  original  formula  in  certain  directions 
with  a  practical  and  immediate  aim. 

Hence,  that  we  have  in  i  Cor.  xi.  20,  the  exact 
record  of  the  words  of  the  revelation  vouchsafed, 
cannot  be  pressed. 

3.  In  respect  to  St.  Luke’s  account,  the  following 
points  must  be  noted : — 

(a)  His  record  is  strikingly  similar  to  St.  Paul’s. 

This  is  significant,  if  we  remember  that  St.  Luke 
was  very  intimate  with  St.  Paul,  and  is  supposed, 
on  the  authority  of  very  early  tradition,  to  have 
written  his  Gospel  under  the  eye  of  St.  Paul. 

There  are  two  divergences,  however — 

(1)  In  respect  to  the  Body  he  adds  “  given  ”  (but 
cf.  ellipse  apparent  in  St.  Paul’s  record  and  familiarity 
of  thought  with  St.  Paul,  as  in  argument  of  1  Cor. 
x.  15-17;  moreover,  it  was  possibly  introduced  in 
parallelism  with  (a)  v.  supra). 

(2)  He  places  “  in  remembrance  of  Me,”  only 
after  mention  of  the  Body — not  as  St.  Paul  repeating, 
after  the  Cup  (cf.  supra). 

(3)  The  chief  difference  is  “  that  which  is 
poured  out  for  you,”  which,  though  consistent  with 
St.  Paul's  line  of  thought,  yet  seems  a  link  to  St. 
Matthew’s  and  St.  Mark’s  “  which  is  shed  for  many.” 

It  can  be  concluded,  therefore,  only  that  St. 
Paul  was  not  St.  Luke’s  sole  authority,  should  St. 
Paul’s  rendering  in  1  Cor.  xi.  20,  be  verbally  exact, 
which  is,  as  seen  above,  very  doubtful,  and  even 
then  St.  Luke’s  version  seems  moulded  by  St.  Paul’s 
influence  ;  whilst  it  seems  quite  possible  from  the 
preceding  considerations,  that  St.  Paul  was  his 
authority  in  the  matter  altogether. 

4.  In  reference  to  St.  Matthew’s  and  St.  Mark’s 
version — 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  107 


The  only  difference  lies  in  St.  Matthew’s  addition 
"  unto  remission  of  sins.”  This  might  be  an  amplifica¬ 
tion  of  the  original  words  of  institution,  as  implicit 
therein — or,  vice  versa,  St.  Mark’s  may  be  a  con¬ 
traction  of  what  was  actually  said,  for  the  same  reason. 

Under  any  circumstances,  there  is  a  striking 
agreement  in  a  simply  Historic  setting,  between  two 
writers,  one  of  whom  was  present  at  the  time  of 
the  Institution,  and  the  other  indebted  to  St.  Peter 
(by  unanimous  testimony  of  earliest  antiquity)  for 
the  material  and  form  of  his  Gospel. 

Hence,  while  we  cannot  be  certain  of  St.  Luke’s 
independence  of  St.  Paul’s  influence  (and  moreover 
St.  Luke  was  not  an  original  authority  by  presence 
and  eye-witness)  ;  whilst,  moreover,  we  cannot 
trust  St.  Paul’s  account  in  1  Cor.  xi.  20,  as  verbally 
exact,  or  intended  to  be  so  (and  further  context  and 
other  writings  and  character,  weigh  considerably  in 
the  other  scale)  ;  we  can,  on  the  other  hand,  per¬ 
ceive  St.  Luke’s  formula— implicit  in  St.  Matthew’s 
and  St.  Mark’s  "  Blood  shed  for  many  ”  (esp. 
St.  Matthew’s  “  shed  for  many  unto  the  remission 
of  sins  ”)—  might  readily  and  rightly  be  paraphrased 
into  St.  Paul’s,  “  This  Cup  is  the  new  Covenant  in 
my  Blood,”  by  any  one  deeply  affected  by  Jewish 
associations,  Scripture,  and  Covenant. 

5.  In  conclusion,  St.  Peter  had  reason  to  re¬ 
member  the  events  of  that  night,  as  none  other  ; 
and  St.  Mark’s  Gospel  is  everywhere  marked  by 
peculiarly  direct  narration  and  extremely  minute 
and  vivid  detail.  Hence  it  would  appear  that  his 
record,  in  this  matter  particularly,  affords  the  most 
exact  record  of  the  actual  Words  of  Institution — 
“  This  is  my  Body,”  "  This  is  my  Blood  of  the 
covenant  which  is  shed  for  many.” 


io8  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


This  form,  then,  affords  the  best  basis  for  inter¬ 
pretation. 

Its  marked  resemblance  to  the  brevity  of  Liturgic 
forms  of  administration  and  the  simple  doctrinal 
statements  of  the  earliest  writers,  as  well  as  the 
consent  of  the  Christian  Church  since  to  its  state¬ 
ments,  as  uniformly  assented  to  textually  by  all, 
whatever  interpretation  they  should  bear,  is  the 
strongest  possible  support  to  this  independent 
conclusion. 


THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  WORDS 
OF  INSTITUTION 


THIS. 


“  IS.” 


r 


r 

2. 


3- 

4- 
/I- 


MY  BODY. 


'*  MY  BLOOD.” 


2. 


Bread,  i.e.  this  outward  sign — this  symbolic 
element. 

Thing,  i.e.  this  inward  part — this  “  res 
sacramenti.” 

”  Mystery,”  this  Sacrament — this  “  efficax 
signum.” 

Symbolically,  i.e.  in  representation ;  as  an 
incitement  to  human  faith. — Zwinglian. 

Virtually,  i.e.  in  effect ;  as  a  pledge  of 
Divine  intention  and  favour. — Calvinist. 

Vitally,  i.e.  in  energy ;  as  a  means  of  grace. 
— Anglican. 

Corporally,  i.e.  in  substance  ;  as  a  sacrifice 
of  propitiation. — Romanist. 

Figuratively  (regarding  only  “  sacramen- 
tum,”  inward  part  a  difficulty). 

An  interpretation  which  tends  to  the  denial 
of  any  inward  part,  cf.  Zwinglian.  “  This 
is  bread  and  nothing  more.” 

Literally  (regarding  “  res  sacramenti  ”  only, 
outward  part  a  difficulty). 

An  interpretation  which  tends  to  denial  of 
outward  part,  cf.  Romanist.  "  This  appears 
bread,  but  is  not.” 

Sacramentally  (regarding  both  the  above 
associated  together,  mode  of  concomitance 
a  difficulty). 

Cf.  Anglican.  “  This  is  (Physically)  bread 
still,  but  it  is  (Spiritually)  something  more 
— how  we  know  not.” 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  109 


This  last  “  mystic  ”  sense  is  the  oppositive  of 
figurative  ;  this  last “  spiritual  ”  sense  is  the  opposite 
of  carnal,  but  not  of  Real. 

(a)  It  expresses  what  is,  but  it  cannot  explain 
its  existence — it  at  once  witnesses  to  a  knowledge 
revealed,  and  worships  a  hidden  “  Wisdom,”  in 
other  words,  it  acknowledges  in  the  Sacrament,  a 
Divine  Mvarripiov. 

(b)  Its  interpretation  is  not  like  the  others  an 
artificial  or  rationalistic  simplification,  by  disregard 
of  either  side  of  the  truth  ;  but  rather,  it  is  a  deeper, 
wider,  and  more  reverent  acceptance  and  expression 
of  a  <f  Mystery,”  recognizing,  though  not  ex¬ 
hausting  ;  embracing  wholly,  though  not  wholly 
harmonizing,  what  would  else  be  opposed,  ignored, 
evaded,  neglected,  or  denied. 

When  our  Lord  said  “  This  is  My  Body,”  it 
is  not  "  This  bread  is  like  or  reminds  of  My  body,” 
but,  “  This,”  whatever  else  it  is,  “  is,”  above  all 
else  it  is,  “  My  Body,”  and  similarly,  with  the  Cup. 

THE  KINDS  OF  SACRIFICE 

One  thing  redeems,  illumines,  and  glorifies  the 
dark  record  of  life,  with  a  constant  presence  and  an 
abiding  power — the  instinct  of  sacrifice. 

This  instinct,  this  temper  of  Sacrifice,  shows 
itself  ceaselessly  towards  man,  as  an  irresistible  force 
in  action  prompting  the  strong  self-sacrifice  of  men 
for  ideals,  for  principles,  for  honour — the  silent  self- 
devotion  of  women  in  works  of  pity,  of  patience,  and 
of  love. 

Towards  God,  it  is  expressed  in  a  universal  and 
unchangeable  rite,  the  rite  of  Sacrifice — for  all 
religion  includes  and  is  consummated  in  Sacrifice. 


no  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Sacrifice  is  the  supreme  act  of  life  towards  God 
as  towards  man. 

Sacrifice  attains  its  transcendent  ideal  when 
recognized  as  essentially  spiritual.  Thus  the  supreme 
height  attained  by  material  offering  is  reached  when 
the  body  itself  is  offered  as  the  instrument  of 
Christian  effort — a  thank-offering  consecrated  by  the 
Body  of  Christ  in  the  body  of  Christ. 

Natural  Conception  of  Sacrifice 

Sacrifice  would  seem  to  have  arisen  first  as  the 
outcome  of  an  instinct  of  weakness,  a  recognition 
of  dependence. 

The  powers  of  Nature  and  of  God,  encompassed 
and  dominated  the  feebleness  of  man — and  before 
the  greatness  and  the  might  of  this  unseen  mastery, 
man  ceded  his  claims  of  independence  and  yielded 
his  homage. 

Only  after  the  sense  of  dependence  was  realized 
could  Sacrifice  come  to  be  offered  either  in  grateful 
recognition  of  benefits  or  to  avert  ills. 

Thus  the  natural  conception  of  sacrifice  seems 
to  have  been  essentially  the  rendering  of  gifts  in 
tributary  homage. 

Jewish  Conception  of  Sacrifice 

The  Jewish  Covenant  confirmed  this  natural  con¬ 
ception  of  Sacrifice,  but  it  did  much  more — it 
connected  with  sacrifice  a  thought  of  “  sin  ”  which 
needs  atonement — it  showed  that  the  tribute  of 
honour,  submission,  and  thanksgiving,  must  be  based 
upon  a  sacrifice  of  atonement.  Thus  emerges  the 
Moral  aspect  of  sacrifice. 

Christian  Conception  of  Sacrifice 

In  the  fulness  of  time  the  one  Sacrifice  of  Atone¬ 
ment  was  offered,  and  thereby  the  Sacrifice  of 


SACRAMENT  OF  THE  BODY  &  BLOOD  hi 


Praise  and  thanksgiving  received  an  eternal  founda¬ 
tion  and  a  Divine  consecration,  becoming  the  per¬ 
petual  Institution  of  Divine  Worship.  Thus  was 
perfected  the  Personal  character  of  Sacrifice. 

Conclusions 

1.  Thus,  all  Religion  includes  and  is  consummated 
in  Sacrifice. 

2.  Thus,  sacrifice  is  exhibited  as  the  supreme  act 
of  fife  towards  God  as  towards  man. 

3.  Thus,  sacrifice  attains  its  transcendent  ideal, 
when  recognized  as  essentially  spiritual  and  personal 
— the  self-sacrifice  of  Love. 

The  thought  of  Sacrifice  is  essentially  that  of  a 
willing  gift,  without  the  added  thoughts  of  “  suffer¬ 
ing  ”  or  "  loss.” 

It  has  been  well  said,  “  Language  cannot  offer 
a  more  impressive  example  of  moral  degeneration  in 
words  than  the  popular  connection  of  thoughts  of 
loss  and  suffering  with  that  which  is  a  Divine 
service." 

It  is  easy  to  see,  however,  how  this  has  come 
about — 

(i a )  Partly,  through  low  conceptions  of  God,  as 
if  such  things  pleased  Him. 

(6)  Partly,  through  an  unworthy  attitude  towards 
Him,  as  one  feared  but  not  loved. 

(c)  Partly  also,  very  probably,  because  of  the 
suffering  and  humiliation  of  physical  circumstance 
which  attended  and  exhibited,  but  did  not,  in  them¬ 
selves,  constitute  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross. 

Impetratory  Offerings 

The  sacrifices  “  connected  with  prayer,  as  a  gift 
with  a  request,  in  order  to  obtain  blessings,"  belong 
properly  to  a  different  category  to  those  noted  above. 


ii2  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


They  expressed  man’s  sense  that  prayer  and  sacrifice 
must  go  together,  if  prayer  is  to  hope  for  an  answer. 

This  just  instinct  found  its  fulfilment  when 
Christian  prayer  began  to  be  made  through  the 
Name  and  Merits  of  Christ,  as  the  condition  of 
its  efficacy. 


ESSAY  VIII 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 

Whatever  be  the  sympathies  felt  in  respect  to 
many  aspects  of  the  Protestant  movement  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  there  is  at  least  unmixed  ground 
for  thankfulness  in  this,  that  it  brought  about  the 
restoration  of  the  Bible — an  unsealed  book  to  all 
within  the  sphere  of  its  influence. 

For  the  Reformation — the  restoration  of  the 
privileges  of  an  unobscured  Catholicity,  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  and  based  upon  a  new  searching  of  the 
Scriptures,  as  a  recovered  oracle  of  light  and  truth 
and  worship,  speaking  straight  and  clear  to  each 
soul. 

The  Protestant  element  in  the  historic  life  and 
present  Character  of  the  English  Church,  shows  most 
favourably  in  the  devotion  with  which  it  cherishes 
an  open  Bible  ;  while  her  Catholicity  is  most  nobly 
graced  by  the  evident  sanction  of  that  precious 
charge  which  she  guards,  interprets,  and  obeys. 

In  these  Scriptures  of  which  the  Church  is  the 
due  “  Keeper  ”  and  faithful  “  Witness,”  the  spiritual 
Guardian  and  the  practical  Interpreter,  all  may 

i 


1 14  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

learn  the  Charter  of  her  Faith,  behold  the  witness 
of  her  Fidelity,  and  acknowledge  the  test  of  her 
Faithfulness. 

The  Church  and  the  Bible  are  so  closely  asso¬ 
ciated  that  the  “  Notes  ”  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Volume  of  Revelation  are  the  same. 

1.  Unity. 

The  wonderful  character  of  the  Unity  of  the 
Bible  is  often  overlooked — accepted  as  if  only  the 
unity  of  a  volume. 

Yet  the  Literature  even  of  a  thousand  years 
bonded  together  by  any  chain  of  kindred  ties  is 
always  a  striking  object,  as  the  imposing  pageant 
of  that  of  England  witnesses. 

The  Bible  presents  an  unrivalled  and  unique 
example  of  the  most  profound  Unity  through  a 
very  long  literary  period. 

Through  all  kinds  of  Form  (Historical,  Poetical, 
Dramatic,  Oratorical,  and  Philosophical),  the  product 
of  widely  severed  ages  and  widely  different  minds, 
may  be  traced  the  unbroken  development  of  a 
series  of  primary  elements — present  in  all,  presented 
by  all,  and  moreover  carried  forward  through  all 
as  a  whole — for  it  has  been  well  said,  “  the  golden 
thread  of  Redemption  strings  together  the  splendid 
jewels  of  Revelation.” 

2.  Holiness. 

This  is  a  “  Note/'  a  characteristic  of  the  Bible, 
in  a  pre-eminent  degree,  not  only  when  it  is 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  115 

compared  with  contemporary  Morality  and  Religion, 
but  with  their  standard  and  practice  at  any  time. 

To  realize  the  sublime  Holiness  of  God’s  Word 
to  man,  it  is  only  necessary  to  consider  what 
Scripture  tells— of  the  past  and  present  nature  of 
Man,  and  of  its  possibilities  ;  of  sin  and  its  inevi¬ 
table  consequences  ;  of  Responsibility  and  of  the 
demand  of  the  law  of  Righteousness  on  present 
conduct — in  private,  in  the  family,  in  the  State, 
in  the  world  ;  of  Judgment  to  come  and  of  man’s 
Destiny  ;  and  of  how  all  these  depend  upon  personal 
relationship  to  God. 

3.  Catholicity. 

Besides  being  full  of  tenderness  and  love  towards 
man,  the  Bible  is  also  marked  by  a  certain  generous 
breadth  of  sympathy  and  of  consideration  in  its 
view  of  man  ;  unhesitatingly  recognizing  man  as 
imperfect  and  needing  forbearance— acknowledging 
most  openly  the  accommodation  of  God’s  dealings 
with  men,  and  their  reception  into  Training  through 
imperfect  beginnings  and  in  irregular  growth. 

4.  Apostolicity. 

The  Bible  is  “  Apostolic  ”  in  that  its  essential 
character  is,  that  it  is  “  sent,”  it  is  not  only  a 
Record  of  God’s  Revelation,  it  embodies  a  Gift  from 
God — a  Message  borne  on  the  breath  of  inspired 
men,  conveying  in  its  turn  inspiration  to  Faith  and 
Love,  to  Hope  and  Service,  to  Knowledge  and  to 
Worship. 


n6  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  Church  and  the  Bible  present  the  same 
“  Notes,”  because,  while  largely  interdependent  on 
one  another,  they  are  both  directly  dependent  upon 
the  God  Who  gave  them — they  are  His  handiwork, 
and  bear  the  stamp  of  their  Maker. 

The  Unity  of  the  Book  is  the  effect  of  a  unique 
Revelation ;  the  Holiness  is  the  result  of  the 
manifestation  of  a  Holy  Being;  the  Catholicity 
is  the  fruit  of  the  Revelation  of  Humanity  in 
its  Universality,  as  it  has  been,  as  it  is,  and  as  it 
becomes  in  the  perfect  life  of  Jesus  ;  the  Aposto- 
licity  is  revealed  especially  in  its  Mission  of  Witness 
to  the  Incarnate  Word — through  testimony  of 
applicable  Allusion,  incidental  Type,  specific  Pro¬ 
phecy,  systematic  Preparation  and  historic  Record, 
that  herald  and  announce  the  Proclamation  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  life  of  God  and  the  life  of  Man, 
in  the  Mystery  of  Incarnation  and  Redemption. 

The  Bible  exhibits  the  same  "  Notes  ”  as  the 
Church,  since  it  proceeds  concurrently  from  the 
same  Divine  Source  and  records  the  work  of 
the  same  Spirit  in  the  evolution  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God. 

Hence,  too,  its  Inspiration  is  recognized  pre¬ 
eminently  by  spiritual  appeal,  and  its  evidences  are 
moral,  since  they  are  convincing  to  faith  but  do 
not  constrain  to  belief. 

The  Bible  resists  the  constraints  of  theory  as 
much  as  human  nature  and  resents  violent  handling 
like  a  living  thing. 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  117 

Its  inspiration  evades  mechanical  investigation, 
and  inappropriate  treatment  only  results  in  the 
disintegration  of  the  organism  through  which  it 
manifests  itself,  although  the  tenacity  of  its  vitality 
is  such,  that  all  evidence  of  its  presence  in  the 
remains  cannot  be  destroyed  even  by  the  utmost 
exercise  of  arbitrary  force,  but  only  be  obscured  and 
rendered  incoherent. 

In  this  connection  it  may  briefly  be  stated— 

1.  Consistently  with  the  facts,  it  is  impossible  to 
ascribe  the  consciousness  of  a  Divine  Purpose  running 
through  the  narrative  History  of  the  Bible  to  inser¬ 
tion  as  an  afterthought — for  man  is  neither  suffi¬ 
ciently  clever  to  accomplish  it  nor  sufficiently  guileful 
to  attempt  it ;  nor  can  its  presence  be  explained  as 
due  to  the  conscious  or  unconscious  moulding  of  the 
whole  narrative  into  conformity  with  any  desired 
or  assumed  scheme  of  its  course  and  significance — 
the  representation  interpenetrates  the  material  as 
well  as  manner  of  the  entire  narrative  too  uniformly 
and  coherently  to  allow  of  such  an  interpretation  of 
its  origin. 

2.  Similarly,  it  is  impossible  to  re-arrange  the 
evidence  of  the  progress  of  Divine  Revelation  as  to 
God,  Man,  and  the  World,  and  to  adjust  the  con¬ 
sistent  underlying  spirituality  of  conception  through¬ 
out  concerning  their  nature  and  relations,  according 
to  any  scheme  of  “  natural  ”  development,  such  as 
might  be  conceived  to  cover  the  case  of  Ethnic 
Religions.  The  instance  is  certainly  a  solitary  one. 


n8  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


and  demands  the  singular  explanation  which  the 
Record  itself  supplies. 

3.  Similarly,  speaking  generally,  it  is  impossible 
to  reconcile — 

(a)  The  fitness  of  Miracles  when  recorded,  to  the 

occasions  when  they  were  wrought,  or  more 
broadly,  to  the  critical  character  of  the 
Period  at  which  they  occurred  ; 

(b)  their  appropriateness  as  evidences  of  the 

Mission  of  those  that  wrought  them  and 
their  consistence  with  the  peculiar  position 
they  held  ; 

(c)  or,  their  service  as  vehicles  of  needed  moral 

or  spiritual  teaching  towards  those  on 
whom  or  amongst  whom  they  were 
wrought, 

with  any  merely  rationalistic  position. 

4.  The  same  is  true  with  the  Foresight  of  Pro¬ 
phecy,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  as 
exhibited  when  viewed  in  conjunction  with  the 
actual  working-out  of  History,  especially  as  mani¬ 
fested  in  the  fulfilment  of  Messianic  Prophecy  and 
of  the  predictions  concerning  the  effect  of  His 
coming  ;  due  weight  being  also  given  to  the  striking 
applicability  of  particular  isolated  and  incidental 
Passages  to  a  complete  and  exact  fulfilment  in  the 
Person,  the  Work,  and  the  Revelation  of  the  Christ ; 
supported,  as  these  are,  by  the  singular  appropriate¬ 
ness  of  “  Type  ”  enshrined  under  symbolic  Institu¬ 
tions  or  suggested  by  historic  person  or  event,  to 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  119 

that  complete  realization  received  in  the  same 
connection. 

5.  Two  other  features  must  be  further  noted  as 
presenting  a  marked  difficulty  in  the  way  of  explana¬ 
tion  on  lines  other  than  that  of  an  acceptance  of 
the  distinct  claims  made  in  the  Sacred  Writings, 
either  directly  or  by  implication,  on  behalf  of  their 
distinctive  and  reliable  character,  viz.— 

(1)  The  Psychology  of  what  w^as  not  only  claimed 

but  recognized  as  being  the  normal  condi¬ 
tions  and  experience  of  Prophetic  exercise, 
by  their  singularity ; 

(2)  and  the  literary  characteristics  (as  distinct 

from  the  Linguistic  peculiarities)  of  the 
Biblical  Histories,  by  their  verisimilitude. 

Speculative  rationalism  in  every  age,  alike  in  its 
criticism  and  reconstruction,  has  shown  itself  deficient 
both  in  the  scientific  estimation  of  evidence  and  in 
the  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  hence  incap¬ 
able  of  that  "  historic  sense,”  which  alone  can 
appreciate  truth  in  fact,  and  the  proportion  of  cause 
and  effect  in  human  history. 

The  critical  treatment  of  the  Bible  is  often 
vitiated  by  an  endeavour  to  trace  the  historic 
development  from  its  source  to  its  culmination. 
In  the  extremely  complex  subjects  with  which  it 
deals,  historic  research  can  only  establish  a  true 
continuity  by  working  from  Maturity  to  Origin, 
otherwise  the  accuracy  of  any  attempt  at  a  state¬ 
ment  of  the  facts  of  the  case  is  liable  to  be  imperilled 


120  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


by  assumptions  and  prepossessions  introduced 
through  the  imaginative  hypotheses  or  logical 
theories  which  determine  the  mode  of  approach. 

Anthropology,  indeed,  consists  largely  of  a 
speculative  reconstruction  of  what  the  course  of 
man’s  development,  both  physical  and  social,  in 
civilization  and  religion,  conceivably  may  have  been, 
rather  than  in  the  detailed  statement  of  what  it 
was,  as  determined  or  inferred  from  strictly  scientific 
investigation. 

Even  when  a  rigorous  procedure  is  employed  in 
the  laudable  desire  to  attain  more  sure  results,  there 
is  danger  lest  it  should  be  forgotten — that  to  record 
the  emergence  into  prominence  of  any  given  feature, 
or  its  first  occurrence,  is  often  merely  to  define  more 
clearly  than  before  the  limitations  of  modern  know¬ 
ledge  and  the  imperfect  range  of  that  research  upon 
which  it  is  constrained  to  rely. 

Such  a  foundation,  however,  evidently  affords 
the  most  precarious  basis  from  which  to  argue,  and, 
still  more  evidently,  on  which  to  generalize. 

Moreover,  by  a  curious  mental  reaction  and 
revulsion  from  mechanical  and  uniform  processes, 
there  is  often  even  most  risk  of  the  erection  of  wildly 
reckless  theories  upon  the  basis  of  the  most  severely 
restrained  methods  of  investigation  and  the  most 
precise  tabulation  of  results. 

It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind,  especially  in 
regard  to  phraseology  and  linguistic  derivation,  that 
the  early  stages  of  civilization  known  to  us  (whether 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  121 

Oriental  or  Occidental),  were  themselves  heir  to  a 
long  antecedent  Period,  of  which  they  retained  the 
relics  and  survivals  ;  so  that  the  use,  for  example, 
of  words,  in  many  instances,  throws  no  light  upon 
any  identity  of  thought  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
used  them  with  the  original  ideas  attaching  to 
their  first  uses  or  embodied  in  their  original 
derivations. 

On  the  other  hand,  immemorial  phraseology  is 
in  nothing  so  likely  to  be  conserved  as  in  forms 
serving  to  express  realized  fellowship  and  inter¬ 
communion  betwixt  God  and  man,  either  in  an 
assurance  of  revelation  received  under  Divine 
guidance,  or  of  worship  offered  under  Divine 
acceptance. 

Turning  to  the  Book  itself — on  the  face  of  it, 
the  Old  Testament  narrative  is  of  extreme  interest, 
for  it  sets  forth  an  exceptional  history,  the  history— 
in  manifold  presentation  of  a  peculiar  people, 
“  peculiar  ”  alike  by  origin  and  situation,  brought 
out  of  slavery  to  become  a  nation,  brought  into  a 
strange  land — a  people  that  did  not  grow  into  a 
nation,  but  were  set  aside  as  the  people  of  God, 
severed  from  all  other  nations,  yet  lying  in  a  land 
destined  to  fall  under  the  clash  of  great  Empires  ; 
and  the  situation  is  represented  as  working  out  in  a 
manner  at  once  consistent  with  its  asserted  purpose, 
both  in  its  distinctive  influence  on  the  formation 
of  national  character  and  the  course  of  national 
experience,  and  in  an  indestructible  sense  of  privilege 


122  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


and  mission,  paralleled  alone  in  the  Christian 
Church. 

It  is  impossible  to  understand  how  such  a  coherent 
and  uniform  representation  could  arise  out  of  any 
complicated  aggregation  of  scattered  material,  under 
diverse  editing  and  compilation,  at  wholly  separate 
times  and  influenced  by  widely  different  tendencies. 

But,  indeed,  the  several  Biblical  Histories  possess 
an  integral  consistency  that  can  only  be  ascribed 
as  due  to  unity  in  the  selection  of  sources  and  to 
fidelity  of  composition — in  other  words,  to  origin  in 
singleness  of  authorship  or  editorship  as  the  case 
may  be,  under  a  sense  of  the  responsibility  it 
involves  however  much  annotation,  addition,  and 
expansion,  in  any  case,  may  have  been  afterwards 
endured. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  broadly  stated  that  no 
Philological  analysis  of  the  Old  Testament  history 
hitherto  attempted  can  be  trusted  to  have  demon¬ 
strated,  much  less  isolated,  the  elements  of  its 
Structure,  or — least  of  all — determined  their  respec¬ 
tive  age  ;  nor  can  any  theory  of  gradual  growth  be 
accepted  as  having  either  exhibited  the  actual 
development  from  secular  origins  of  its  distinctive 
features  and  institutions,  or  as  having  traced  the 
fundamental  ideas  dominating  it  to  a  natural 
source  ;  nor  is  it  probable  that  the  future  will  be 
more  successful  in  explaining  that  which  can  ulti¬ 
mately  be  ascribed  alone  to  Him  “  Whose  footsteps 
are  not  known.” 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


123 


The  beginning  of  the  Bible  story  is  in  close 
connection  with  the  history  to  follow. 

The  purpose  of  Gen.  i-xi,  as  it  stands,  appears 
to  be  that  of  a  Prologue  to  the  History  of  Israel 
conceived  of  as  a  “  chosen  people  ”  ;  in  Christ,  it  is 
revealed  as  the  Prologue  to  the  History  of  Redemp¬ 
tion. 

The  recital  exhibits  the  Fall  of  man  from  the 
state  in  which  he  was  created  as  The  Reason  giving 
significance  to  all  that  follows. 

The  preliminary  statement  of  the  facts  of  the 
case,  is  embodied  in  a  form  apparently  due  to 
primitive  conditions. 

The  ancient  Legends  of  the  Semitic  race  seem  to 
have  supplied  the  pictorial  material  for  expression. 

This  material  is  apparently  derived  from  ancient 
tradition,  where  such  tradition  was  possible. 

Such  traditions  may  obviously  possess  an  historic 
value,  as  the  more  or  less  remembered  record  of 
actual  events. 

Together  with  the  traditional  memory  of  striking 
events — as  in  the  case  of  the  Flood — there  is  present 
an  element  which  serves  to  interpret  even  although 
it  could  not  be  inferred  from  the  existing  order  of 
things. 

Allegory  is  much  more  likely  to  colour  these 
latter  symbolic  portrayals  and  especially  the 
spiritual  history  of  man's  fall  (Gen,  i-iii),  although 
its  influence  may  affect  details  also  in  the  Traditions. 

This  consideration  must  not  be  forgotten  in 


124  FIRST  principles  of  the  church 


dealing  with  the  material  taken  up  to  constitute 
the  framework  of  the  beginning  of  Genesis. 

It  is  not  necessarily  to  be  supposed  that  in  them 
there  is  possessed  the  exact  literal  record  of  detailed 
and  actual  event — whatever  view  in  that  respect 
was  held  by  those  who  first  framed  those  early 
narratives. 

Their  true  importance  rests  upon  their  adequacy 
for  the  purpose  with  which  they  are  employed  in 
Scripture,  their  broad  conformity  with  the  Truth 
which  those  Scriptures  use  them  to  set  forth, 
emphasize,  and  convey,  and  the  substantially  correct 
impression  and  proportion  left  upon  the  hearer. 

The  sources  of  the  form  may  both  inevitably 
and  fitly  be  moulded  by  its  connection  with  early 
man,  with  the  limitations  thereby  imposed. 

The  form  itself  gains  corresponding  advan¬ 
tage  ;  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  it  is  “  in  tone  ” 
with  that  with  which  it  deals,  and  from  a  human 
point  of  view,  it  possesses  unique  adaptation  for 
the  representation  to  universal  understanding,  in 
perennial  freshness,  vividness,  and  force,  of  certain 
statements  of  religious  fact — indispensable  to  the 
comprehension  of  those  incidents  and  that  narrative 
of  historic  fact,  to  which  it  forms  the  prelude  and 
introduction. 

The  Biblical  narratives  are  distinguished  by  a 
simplicity,  a  directness,  and  a  dignity,  which  offer 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  extravagant,  ridiculous, 
and  grotesque — even  sometimes  offensive — elements, 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  125 

that  are  manifest  in  such  ancient  attempts  at 
Cosmogony  as  exist. 

Throughout  this  preliminary  recital,  a  general 
compatibility  with  the  knowledge  ascertainable  from 
other  sources  and  valuable  from  other  points  of 
view  is  clearly  discernible.  Although  the  con¬ 
formity  is  everywhere  sufficiently  close,  yet  it  is  not 
everywhere  equally  striking,  but  particularly  in  the 
description  of  the  several  stages  of  the  Creation  rises 
to  a  remarkable  and  substantial  agreement  with 
the  results  of  modern  research,  which  is  all  the  more 
notable  when  recognized  as  a  “  by-product/' 

Undesignedly  scientific,  the  imagination  does  not 
run  grotesquely  riot,  but  keeps  a  broad  correspond¬ 
ence  with  the  facts  of  the  case  as  they  are  of  import¬ 
ance  in  other  relations,  and  the  record  is  as  striking 
in  what  it  refrains  from  saying  as  in  what  it  says. 

The  epic  recital  of  the  primary  relation  of  all 
created  things  to  the  Creator,  naturally  works  back¬ 
ward  from  the  contemplation  of  creation  as  it  is,  in 
its  completeness,  and  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
its  consummation — man. 

Beginning  with  the  two  great  contrasted  cosmic 
aspects  of  night  and  day,  always  so  impressive  and 
suggestive  to  man,  the  elemental  features  of  man's 
habitation  are  successively  enumerated  in  increasing 
nearness  to  man,  in  sky  and  sea  and  dry  land 
clothed  with  verdure  ;  an  enumeration  followed  by 
that  of  the  denizens  of  each,  in  like  order,  in  their 
especial  aspects  of  interest  or  service  to  man,  each 


126  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


element  emerging  into  light  as  morning  follows 
evening,  and  its  dawn  adding  another  stage  to  the 
display  of  the  goodness  of  the  whole  which  God 
has  made. 

Thus,  the  setting  of  “  days  ”  of  creation,  marks 
its  progress  rather  than  defines  its  periods,  and 
only  suggests  sequence  in  a  general  way  and  with 
evident  qualifications  ;  while  the  “  week  ”  of  days, 
culminating  in  the  “  Sabbath/’  vividly  gives  the 
sense  of  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  divine  purpose 
in  the  divine  work  accomplished. 

All  creation  is  subordinate  to  the  interests  of 
man’s  destiny  ;  therefore,  as  in  the  beginning  of  the 
account  it  is  mainly  in  its  bearing  upon  man’s  place 
in  it  that  the  rest  of  nature  is  regarded,  so  the  sub¬ 
sequent  portion  passes  without  a  break  to  that  with 
which  it  is  solely  concerned — the  characteristic  con¬ 
ditions  of  man’s  lot  in  the  newly  created  but  yet  un¬ 
peopled  world,  for  after  a  brief  mention  of  how  the 
earth  awaited  cultivation  prior  to  man’s  advent,  it 
deals  emphatically  with  his  creation  as  a  living  soul, 
his  abode  and  occupation,  his  interest  in  the  animate 
creation  and  his  isolation  from  it,  and  his  need  of 
fellowship,  human  and  divine — by  the  very  famili¬ 
arity  of  its  anthropomorphic  language  stressing  the 
fact  that  man  has  a  certain  kinship  with  God  and 
is  capable  of  intimate  fellowship  with  Him,  and  in 
this  way  leading  up  to  and  illuminating  the  story  of 
his  blessedness  and  fall  that  follows.  From  whatever 
sources  derived,  there  is  indissoluble  unity  with 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


127 

nothing  redundant  or  dispensable  in  Gen.  i-iii,  as 
it  stands,  a  unity  as  instructive  as  its  substance  is 
remarkable. 

As  the  Creation  epic  sets  creation  as  it  is,  and  as 
it  is  to  man,  in  right  relation  to  Him  Who  created, 
made,  approved,  and  blessed  the  whole,  so — with 
similar  suggestiveness  and  equal  significance — the 
story  of  the  Fall  does  not  even  touch  the  origin  of 
evil,  but  reveals  the  underlying  import  of  facts  with 
which  pondering  man  cannot  at  any  time  help  being 
impressed,  viz.  the  fact  of  temptation,  the  easy 
choice  of  wrong,  and  the  consciousness  of  shame, 
along  with  “  the  miseries  of  this  sinful  world  ”  as 
seen  in  the  hard  toil  of  man,  the  suffering  of  tender 
woman,  human  decay,  and  death — teaching  what 
these  mean  and  whence  they  spring. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  story  of  the  Tower  of 
Babel  at  the  close  of  the  introduction  occupies  an 
entirely  subordinate  position  to  that  enumeration  of 
the  known  nations  of  the  world  according  to  racial 
affinity  and  geographical  distribution  which  it 
follows  and  to  which  it  is  appended,  tracing  as  it 
does,  in  naive  form,  but  with  profound  suggestive¬ 
ness,  the  fundamental  conditions  explaining  the 
existence  of  those  diverse  nations  in  their  widely 
severed  dwelling-places  and  the  difference  of  their 
tongues — and  thereby  indicating  the  fundamental 
principles  underlying  all  possible  forms  of  com¬ 
munity  in  social  life  ;  while  reference  to  the  migra¬ 
tions  of  the  peoples  fitly  serves  in  turn  to  introduce 


128  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


that  Abram  who  journeying  forth  at  the  command 
of  God  was  to  become  the  Father  of  the  faithful 
amongst  all  nations. 

With  the  Call  of  Abraham,  History  in  the  form 
of  traditional  narrative  emerges  into  light — and  in 
the  life  of  Joseph,  the  narrative  has  come  to  bear 
throughout,  the  strongest  marks  of  indebtedness  to 
contemporaneous  sources — while  with  Moses,  the 
beginning  of  National  history  as  well  as  existence  is 
established. 

In  their  course,  traditional  Legend,  Eponymous 
narrative  and  Constitutional  origins,  Heroic  story 
and  Historic  Records,  follow  one  another  in  the 
natural  order  and  unbroken  sequence  appropriate 
to  the  actual  stages  of  the  History  they  set  forth. 

The  absence  of  direct  confirmation  for  the  Early 
History  and  development  of  Israel  from  external 
sources,  is  to  be  expected  from  the  nature  of  the 
case. 

The  Patriarchs  as  sojourners  were  little  likely  to 
appear  noteworthy  to  those  among  whom  they 
sojourned  or  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  their 
affairs,  nor  could  they  exercise  a  sufficiently  pro¬ 
longed  influence  to  assure  enduring  remembrance 
among  them. 

Similarly  none  outside  the  circle  of  Israel  were 
likely  to  refer  to  Moses  or  the  legislation  of  Moses, 
or  to  seek  to  perpetuate  the  greatness  of  either  or 
derive  from  them,  in  days  when  all  the  nations 
round  the  chosen  people  had  either  feared  before 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  129 

Moses  and  his  successors,  suffered  subjection,  or 
received  defeat  at  their  hands. 

The  History  of  Israel  is  broadly  substantiated 
by  the  monuments  of  Egypt  and  Assyria  as  soon 
as  those  empires  came  into  sufficiently  close  contact 
with  the  chosen  people  as  a  settled  community, 
coherent  enough  to  render  peaceful  relations  desirable, 
or  weak  enough  for  them  to  glorify  their  own  prowess 
by  victory  over  it. 

Indeed  the  Nation  and  its  Progenitors  were  alike 
at  all  times  insignificant  as  factors  in  the  World's 
concerns  and  destitute  of  influence  upon  its  develop¬ 
ment,  save  in  those  vast  spiritual  interests  and 
relations  for  which  their  very  insignificance  in  other 
respects  gave  them  freedom,  while  at  the  same  time 
marking  the  signal  Distinction  of  the  pre-eminence 
enjoyed. 

The  Bible  exhibits  no  chronological  scheme, 
nor — confining  attention  to  its  beginnings — can  such 
be  extracted  from  the  genealogical  data  of  Caps, 
i-xi,  the  arrangement  of  which  is  obviously  artificial, 
as  its  ordering  in  sets  of  ten  sufficiently  demonstrates. 

The  early  "  Chronology  ”  is  evidently  "  unhis- 
torical,”  but  not  therefore  valueless.  It  has  been 
well  said  ( see  Turner,  art.  "  Chronology,"  H.D.B.), 
“  to  accept  the  numbers  of  the  early  portion  ( i.e . 
of  Genesis)  as  genuine  records,  is  to  assume  from 
the  Creation  of  man,  a  degree  of  civilization  high 
enough  to  provide  a  settled  Calendar  and  a  regular 
registration  of  births  and  deaths,  as  well  as  the 

K 


130  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


preservation  of  such  records,  from  the  Creation  of 
man  to  the  time  of  the  composition  of  Genesis.” 

This  consideration  in  itself  appears  conclusive 
of  the  light  in  which  the  ascribed  ages  must  be 
regarded. 

The  value  of  the  numbers  as  they  stand  in  the 
Bible  is  that  they  have  always  served  to  secure  to 
reflective  review  a  sense  of  perspective  in  the  stages 
of  human  Development  and  a  sense  of  the  gradual 
character  of  its  movement,  that  would  otherwise 
have  been  entirely  absent. 

Like  much  of  the  Narrative  in  which  they  are 
imbedded,  they  are  “  symbolic,”  part  of  that 
Pictorial  Apparatus  through  which  the  significance 
of  the  human  Tragedy  is  so  impressively  unfolded 
and  brought  home  to  every  understanding  in  every 
age. 

Such  an  indirect  appreciation  of  Numbers  appears 
to  have  remained  congenial  to  the  Jewish  mind  until 
the  latest  period  of  their  National  existence,  espe- 
cialty  in  connection  with  questions  of  Genealogy. 

But,  indeed,  ancient  times  were  universally  wont 
to  mark  the  sense  of  their  own  antiquity  by  similar 
means. 

Hence  from  another  point  of  view,  the  presence 
of  such  numbers  in  the  introductory  portion  of  the 
Bible,  is  of  value,  as  pointing  to  the  antiquity  of 
the  recital  in  which  they  occur — and  falls  in  with 
other  marks  of  great  antiquity  conspicuous  therein — 
such  as  the  constant  harking  back  with  expansion, 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  131 

the  frank  subordination  of  chronological  sequence 
to  that  of  personal  interest,  and  the  unhesitating 
repetition  employed  where  emphasis  is  required, 
characteristic  of  an  unliterary  but  not  unskilled 
writer  ;  the  comparative  yet  growing  flexibility  and 
ease  of  narrative  as  the  composition  proceeds,  along 
with  a  still  somewhat  laboured  enunciation  and 
arrangement  of  legal  matters  when  they  occur,  and 
the  abrupt  insertion  of  genealogy,  census,  or  ordi¬ 
nance,  whenever  markedly  relevant  to  the  subject, 
as  well  as  the  interest  exhibited  in  such  serviceable 
memories  techniccs  as  are  provided  by  them  or  by 
the  origin  of  proper  names  of  place  or  person,  and 
lastly,  the  commingling  of  occasional  judgments 
with  the  historic  circumstances  from  which  they 
arose,  as  distinct  from  the  exceptional  giving  of  the 
great  body  of  permanent  legislation  which  makes 
the  account  of  the  stay  at  Sinai,  the  constitutional 
history  of  Israel  as  a  nation — a  mass  of  material 
very  possibly  codified,  supplemented,  or  modified 
afterwards,  but  not  gradually  accumulated  as  with 
every  other  people. 

It  is  true  that  all  such  evidences  of  ancient 
workmanship  can  alone  be  weighed  by  a  subjective 
judgment,  but  such  a  judgment  is,  in  this  case, 
made  with  comparative  ease  and  certainty,  for  there 
is  in  early  work  an  inimitable  simplicity,  a  careful 
delicacy  and  a  vivid  directness  combined  with 
striking  lack  of  mastery  over  the  material,  that 
cannot  be  imitated  afterwards. 


132  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Archaistic  copies  of  archaic  features  can  never 
dissever  themselves  from  their  prolonged  inheritance 
and  enriched  experience — their  reproductions  are 
in  no  sense  “  reversions/’  and  cannot  conceal  the 
skill,  which  polishes  while  it  imitates,  and  is  un¬ 
able  to  win  back  the  naive  unconsciousness  and 
spontaneous  sincerity  of  absorbed  but  untrained 
effort. 

Indeed,  if  the  literary  witness  to  the  great 
antiquity  of  the  documents  is  to  be  rightly  and 
fully  esteemed,  it  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that 
ease  of  verbal  diction  necessarily  precedes  ease  of 
documentary  composition  (even  when  writing  is 
no  longer  confined  to  monumental  inscription,  but 
become  “  free  ”  for  current  use),  and  that  simplicity 
of  order  and  smoothness  of  literary  transition  is  the 
last  result  of  practised  scholarship. 

In  dealing  with  the  Sacred  Writings,  it  is  always 
necessary  to  remember  that  that  which  tacitly 
assumes  to  be  veracious  record,  and  bears  the 
appearance  of  veracity,  presents  within  itself  the 
credentials  of  its  own  credibility,  and  should  always 
be  treated  as  a  true  Source  of  information  of  the 
highest  importance  and  value,  until  its  reliability 
is  overthrown  by  the  contradiction  of  known  facts  ; 
for  a  lack  of  coincidence  or  even  of  correspondence 
with  such  facts,  is  no  hindrance  to  the  acceptance 
of  a  recital  that  does  not  require  the  confirmation 
of  their  support  to  substantiate  its  own  reliability, 
although  when  such  confirmation  occurs,  in 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


133 


combination  with  the  independent  statement,  there  is 
established  the  most  assured  evidence  possible  for 
the  possession  of  substantial  truth. 

The  Scriptures  are  certainly  not  less  worthy  of 
credence  than  any  other  available  documentary 
evidence,  while  their  testimony  is — with  equal 
certainty — more  illuminating  and  broadly  instruc¬ 
tive  in  respect  to  that  with  which  they  deal,  than 
any  purely  material  archaeological  evidence  conceiv¬ 
able  can  be. 

The  Lacunae  of  History,  as  we  are  able  to  recon¬ 
struct  it  from  its  material  and  monumental  remains, 
may  be  more  justly  conceived  to  afford  the  measure 
of  our  ignorance  of  the  Past  than  serve  to  impugn 
the  credibility  of  those  relics  which  that  past  has 
left  in  the  shape  of  documentary  evidence,  even 
when  these  remain  otherwise  unsupported. 

But  although  not  required  to  substantiate  the 
authenticity  of  documentary  material  credible  in 
itself,  yet  archaeological  research  is  able  to  afford 
great  indirect  support  to  its  assumed  veracity,  when 
it  discloses  previously  unknown  and  unsuspected 
harmonies  of  correspondence  between  the  facts 
alleged  and  a  circumstantial  setting  provided  by  its 
own  independent  investigation. 

Any  such  indirect  piece  of  evidence  furnishes 
more  than  an  illustrative  example  of  what  might 
have  been,  it  falls  in  with  the  received  account,  as 
part  of  an  undivided  current — that  of  the  contem¬ 
poraneous  course  of  life  as  it  was. 


134  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  Old  Testament  History  is  invaluable  as  a 
faithful  Record  of  God’s  gradual  preparation  for 
that  Revelation  of  Himself  in  Christ,  of  which  the 
New  Testament  gives  the  facts,  exhibits  the  results, 
and  unfolds  the  meaning. 

Viewed  in  its  most  appealing  aspect,  the  Bible 
is  a  book  of  entrancing  interest,  for  the  study  of 
real  life  is  always  fascinating,  and  the  Bible  achieves 
the  highest  aim  of  all  artistic  effort,  by  holding  up 
the  Mirror  to  life  in  its  most  significant  and  eternal 
aspects. 

The  Bible  transcends  all  literature  in  its  por¬ 
trayal  of  Human  Life  and  its  Lessons,  it  is  the  Volume 
of  Human  Experience  in  its  religious  bearings — 
while,  as  a  Divine  Autobiography,  its  manner  is  as 
significant  as  its  matter  is  sublime,  for  the  Bible 
displays  the  Nature  of  God  and  reveals  His  Will 
through  His  Works  and  Ways — yet  never  encourages 
curiosity  as  to  the  Divine  Methods  of  working  or 
as  to  the  processes  of  Divine  Thought,  since  it  is 
the  Results  which  God  would  have  men  ponder,  for 
the  effect  upon  their  own  lives  and  character. 

The  Bible  is  an  inspired  embodiment  of  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  God  and  man,  and  of  all  that  concerns  the 
Godly  life — in  which  the  mystery  of  life’s  course 
receives  its  fullest  interpretation  and  the  deepest 
springs  of  spiritual  character  are  made  manifest. 

There  is  no  body  of  writings  like  it,  so  illuminating, 
so  inspiring,  so  Divine  and  so  human. 

The  Books  afford  a  whole  Literature,  wholly 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


135 


unique,  for  nothing  else  approaches  their  amazing 
combination  of  subtilty  and  simplicity,  of  pro¬ 
fundity  and  vividness,  of  dignity  and  frankness,  or 
possesses  so  vast  an  imaginative  range  while  keeping 
everywhere  so  close  to  actual  human  interests. 

The  Bible  cannot  be  treated  like  any  other  book 
or  collection  of  books,  for  it  is  unlike  all  others  ; 
the  Bible  stands  alone,  in  the  truthfulness  to  life 
of  its  matter,  in  wholesomeness  of  treatment,  and 
in  sustained  elevation  of  spirit— a  book  singularly 
pure,  natural,  liberal  and  gracious  alike  in  por¬ 
traiture  and  address.  It  is  marvellous— because 
God’s  Word,  full  of  inspiration  from  on  high. 

As  God  breathed  into  “  dead  ”  matter  the  breath 
of  life  and  man  became  a  living  soul,  so  inspiration 
brings  a  quickening,  a  new  vitality,  so  that  no 
book  is  so  much  alive  as  the  Bible,  nor  any  book 
so  “  lif e-giving.”  * 

In  striking  difference  from  the  characteristics  of 
Profane  Literature,  there  is  no  need  in  the  Bible  of 
a  sifting  process  by  which  to  gather  the  grains  from 
the  chaff.  The  less  worthy  parts  fall  away  of 
themselves  so  that  its  Use  is  marred  by  no  storing 
up  of  bad  suggestions,  false  arguments,  or  confusing 
assertions,  dross  that  alloys  so  much  of  even  the 
best  secular  work.  In  it,  no  alloy  is  gathered 
with  the  gold,  though  some  shines  more  resplendent 
in  its  beauty  and  glory  than  the  rest. 

And  its  Inspiration  is  a  special  endowment,  for 
"  thus  saith  the  Lord  ”  came  often  contrary  to 


136  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

inclination,  above  natural  aptitude,  beyond  control, 
without  will,  or  even  full  understanding. 

Among  the  heathen  of  Antiquity,  Oracles  such 
as  that  of  the  priestess  of  the  Sun  at  Delphi,  were 
held  in  much  estimation — dark  sayings  it  might  be, 
but  at  least  filled  with  insight  of  the  Present  and 
with  foresight  of  the  Future,  by  one  possessed  of  a 
divine  impulse  and  control,  to  guide,  to  warn,  and 
to  enlighten. 

Such  a  view  of  Inspiration,  so  far  remains  more 
nearly  the  truth — and,  therefore,  more  worthy  of  it, 
than  any  alternative  attempt  to  exalt  excellent 
Talent,  exceptional  Sagacity,  or  creative  Genius,  to 
that  dignity. 

“  Inspiration,”  in  its  religious  sense,  surpasses 
by  kind  and  not  only  in  degree  all  such  gifts  of  God. 

It  reveals  with  instant  authority  and  impresses 
with  immediate  conviction,  what  we  could  not 
otherwise  know,  but  only  hope,  trust,  or  imagine. 

Without  it,  men  would  be  thrown  back  upon 
their  own  vague  thoughts  of  God,  left  to  their  own 
dim  ideas  of  His  purposes,  certain  only  of  their 
own  needs,  yet  uncertain  how  far  those  needs  can 
be  trusted  as  pointing  to  One  great  and  good,  and 
loving  enough  to  satisfy  them. 

With  the  Bible,  all  is  different ;  it  makes  known 
the  truth  about  God  and  the  Soul,  what  life  is  for 
and  whither  it  tends  and  the  significance  of  its 
mortal  environment — and  not  merely  tells  about 
these  things,  but  points  to  the  Truth  Himself,  to 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  137 

Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  in  Whom  we  have  a  Saviour, 
through  Whom  we  draw  nigh  a  Father,  and  by 
Whom  is  sent  to  us  a  Divine  Friend  and  Comforter  ; 
in  Whose  Incarnate  Life  is  perfectly  expressed  the 
Divine  Nature  and  the  Divine  Will,  while  through 
that  Incarnate  Life  has  been  fully  afforded,  once  for 
all,  the  needed  Revelation  at  once  of  the  Divine 
Dispositions  and  of  the  Divine  Purpose  towards  us. 

Not  only  so,  the  Bible  also  affords  a  complete 
equipment  for  every  good  work  and  nothing  to 
unlearn,  while  it  makes  perfect  provision  for  every 
advance  in  Christian  practice  and  Christian  know¬ 
ledge,  and  provides  an  inexhaustible  storehouse  of 
truth,  power,  and  devotion,  always  available  to  the 
docile  and  attentive  soul. 

As  with  the  Sacraments,  so  due  honour  is  alone 
paid  to  the  Bible  through  devout  use,  and  no 
valuation  of  its  worth  is  possible,  until  such  use,  or 
apart  from  it. 

To  sum  up — the  Bible  is  not  merely  a  venerable 
literature,  ancient  history,  or  the  story  of  religion  in 
olden  days,  it  is  the  light  of  God  on  life  to-day, 
and  the  interpreter  of  our  own  religious  experience. 

If  Scripture  enunciates  what  we  must  believe, 
it  is  that  it  may  train  us  how  we  must  live. 

To  the  Christian  as  to  Christ,  doubtless  those 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament  will  be  most  dear, 
in  which  “  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  other 
Writings  ”  find  their  supreme  embodiment  and  most 
spiritual  expression,  viz.  Deuteronomy,  Isaiah,  and 


138  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  Psalms,  and  which  at  the  same  time  display 
the  most  evident  testimony  to  the  Lord,  as  well  as 
receive  the  most  direct  attestation  from  Him. 

The  Writings  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
receive  their  immeasurable  value  through  their  testi¬ 
mony  to  Christ  and  to  that  Will  of  God  which  in 
Him  was  evidently  accomplished  and  set  forth. 

Much  obscurity  rests  upon  the  history  of  their 
form  and  the  peculiarities  of  their  text ;  and  their 
contents  leave  much  unknown  that  we  are  curious 
and  perplexed  to  know  concerning  this  world  and 
the  next — but  if  the  Bible  is  sometimes  obscure  in 
its  matter,  yet  even  when  obscure  in  its  “  parts/’ 
these  are  rarely  obscure  as  “  wholes/’  nor  is  the 
whole  obscure,  as  a  whole — for  the  Holy  Scriptures 
are  never  difficult  or  dark  in  that  which  it  concerns 
men  most  to  know,  they  always  fulfil  their  end 
"  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,”  and  if  they  are 
studied  that  He  may  be  known,  and  if  it  is  sought 
through  their  aid  to  grow  more  like  Him,  then  the 
Bible  is  used  aright  and  eternal  life  is  found,  not  in 
them,  but  in  Him. 

For  the  Bible  is  One  not  merely  by  the  con¬ 
sistency  of  its  several  books  within  themselves  and 
with  one  another,  or  through  the  correspondence  of 
Prophecy  and  Messianic  looking-forward  with  actual 
fulfilment  long  afterwards — though  all  this  is  suffi¬ 
ciently  striking,  but  it  is  one,  by  the  indefinable 
stamp  of  simple  truth,  in  its  living  presentation, 
directness,  and  unreserved  candour  ;  one,  in  the 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


*39 


consistent  as  well  as  constant  recognition  and  exposi¬ 
tion  of  a  revealed  Divine  Purpose  ;  one,  in  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  same  fundamental  ideas  of  spiritual 
religion  and  life  throughout ;  one,  in  the  portrayal 
of  an  all-holy,  all-wise,  and  all-loving  God  ;  one,  in 
the  gradual  ascent  to  an  Incarnate  Lord. 

The  Unity  of  Revelation  proceeds  from  the  Unity 
of  its  Source  ;  and  its  diversity  of  Presentation, 
from  the  manifold  manners  in  which  are  disclosed 
the  infinite  Perfections  of  that  Source. 

Hence  the  Bible  itself  is  its  own  supreme,  best, 
and  indispensable  Commentary. 

The  practical  obscuration  of  the  Bible  always 
leads  to  stunted  growth  in  spiritual  knowledge, 
experience,  and  holiness  ;  to  the  encroachment  of 
errors  and  corruptions  in  faith  ;  to  the  decay  of 
the  Church  and  the  failure  of  her  Work. 

As  the  Holy  Eucharist  is  not  least  precious  to 
the  believing  soul,  for  the  personal  conviction  and 
spiritual  apprehension  that  it  brings,  so  the  Holy 
Bible  constitutes  the  great  Treasure  of  the  Church, 
since  it  is  the  Charter  of  her  Faith  and  the  Warrant 
of  her  Hope. 

An  increase,  therefore,  in  the  sense  of  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  Church  forgetful  of  her  reliance  upon 
the  Written  Word  as  the  Title  of  her  Existence  and 
the  Illumination  of  her  Life,  or  disregardful  of  her 
Witness  to  and  Guardianship  of  the  Bible,  is  bound 
to  bring  about  its  own  swift  Nemesis  ;  for  spiritual 
well-being  in  the  Community,  as  in  the  Individual, 


140  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


is  most  surely  tested  by  the  Profit  and  Relish  that 
is  had  of  God's  most  Holy  Word. 

PROPHECY 

In  the  Old  Testament,  as  in  the  New,  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  discharge  or  withdraw,  either  the  Miraculous 
in  Act,  or  that  peculiar  form  of  Miracle-in- Word 
which  is  termed  Predictive  Prophecy,  without  loss 
of  prevailing  character  in  the  web  to  which  they 
contribute  so  distinctive  and  closefy  interwoven  a 
portion  of  the  pattern,  or  without  endangering  the 
unity  of  the  whole  fabric,  if  not  of  bringing  about 
its  entire  dissolution. 

The  Bible,  as  a  whole,  is  full  of  the  Miraculous 
(as  it  is  everywhere  of  the  exceptional,  though  not 
the  exceptionable)  in  one  or  the  other  form  ;  the 
most  minutely-specific  and  definitely-timed  unveil¬ 
ings  of  the  Future,  near  or  remote,  certainly  abound 
concerning  the  Chosen  People,  particular  individuals, 
or  the  Nations  which  then  constituted  the  notable 
world,  or  which  should  rise  into  importance  as 
fundamental  factors  in  shaping  the  spiritual  history 
of  the  future. 

It  is  impossible  to  reduce  the  Foreknowledge  of 
Prophecy  to  the  foresight  of  Statesmanship,  however 
sagacious  or  broad  in  outlook,  or  to  the  Insight  of 
Ethical  Intuition,  however  penetrating  or  profound. 

It  is  true,  that  in  their  whole  activity,  the 
Prophets  throw  the  light  of  what  God  eternally  is, 
upon  that  which  temporally  happens — and  it  may 
even  be  assumed  that  it  was  because  God  is  “  the 
same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever/'  that  they 
were  enabled  to  lay  down  both  the  general  principles 
of  His  Moral  Government  and  the  spiritual  aspects  of 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  141 

man’s  Duty — but,  though  God  uses  the  History 
of  Earth,  to  unfold  the  Will  of  Heaven,  as  shown 
by  His  dealings  with  men — and  employs  the  course 
of  things  temporal  to  reveal  something  of  that  Life 
Eternal,  which  He  Himself  is — yet  the  interpretative 
function  of  the  prophets  in  respect  to  this  aspect 
of  things  did  not  cover  the  whole  of  their  Divine 
mission,  nor  could  any  endowment  it  implied  render 
them  able  to  do  more  than  conjecture  even  the 
general  future  and  destiny  of  that  whole  realm  of 
change  ruled  by  unchanging  God. 

The  most  distinctive  attribute  of  "  Prophecy  ”  is 
the  precise  and  perfect  foreknowledge  which  is 
exhibited  in  it — and  the  permanent  Religious  value 
of  Prophecy  lies  in  its  testimony  to  the  existence 
and  unfailing  fulfilment  of  Divine  Purpose — as  con¬ 
firmed  by  the  witness  aforetime  of  the  Foreknowledge 
of  God,  long  prior  to  the  fulfilment  by  which  that 
Purpose  should  be  accomplished  and  displayed. 

The  element  of  Prediction  in  the  prophets 
culminates  in  their  testimony  to  Christ. 

Even  when  finding  an  available  starting-point 
in  contemporaneous  events,  and  thus  having  a 
subordinate  immediate  intelligibility— or  similarly, 
when  in  touch  with  speedily  subsequent  circum¬ 
stances,  it  is  capable  through  a  partial  applicability 
to  afford  a  temporary  "  sign  ”  for  the  times — yet 
such  a  relation  or  service  remains  entirely  inadequate 
to  account  for  or  justify  a  scale  of  language  and  a 
size  of  conception  which  only  the  far-off  destined 
fulfilment  proved  of  character  to  satisfy. 

Moreover,  Predictive  Prophecy  as  a  whole,  both 
in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New,  exhibits 
all  the  signs  of  a  perfectly  orderly  and  highly  sig¬ 
nificant  Development — such  a  course  as  marks  the 


142  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

employment  of  a  deliberately  adopted,  definitely 
employed,  and  rationally  controlled,  Instrument. 

Biblical  Prophecy  not  only  affords  a  kind  of 
“  Philosophy  of  History,’ !  unfolding  the  significance 
of  critical  points  in  the  course  of  the  History  of  the 
chosen  people  and  the  nations  of  the  world  around, 
it  emphasizes  the  significance  of  critical  points  in  the 
progress  of  God’s  Redemptive  Purpose  towards 
mankind,  by  anticipating  their  occurrence  or  con¬ 
sequences. 

The  prevalence  of  Predictive  Prophecy  especially 
characterizes  the  Monarchical  period  of  the  history 
of  the  Chosen  People. 

Through  the  period  of  their  National  existence, 
Prophecy  developed  the  significance  of  its  course, 
and  kept  alive  by  this  indirect  means  the  Theocratic 
Idea — The  Lord  was  still  King. 

It  effectually  impressed  the  lessons  of  the  Cap¬ 
tivity  upon  those  who  were  still  the  chosen  people 
of  God  ;  while  it  afforded  the  support  to  Faith 
required  in  that  time  of  prolonged  National  Abey¬ 
ance,  and  sustained  the  hope  of  renewed  Opportunity 
to  the  Elect  Nation  on  its  Return. 

Before  its  long  cessation  up  to  the  time  of  the 
Forerunner,  Prophecy  made  provision  for  those  who 
“  righteous  and  devout,”  should  look  for  the  con¬ 
solation  of  Israel,  watching  and  waiting  for  the 
coming  of  the  Christ,  even  amid  persecution,  tribu¬ 
lation,  and  changing  face  of  nations. 

Hence  the  Prophetic  correspondence  with  the 
experiences  of  the  Lot  and  Vicissitude  of  the  dis¬ 
persed  Remnant  became  peculiarly  detailed  in  its 
anticipation,  for  the  encouragement,  guidance,  and 
confirmation  of  Faith  in  those  who  "  reading  ” 
should  ”  understand,”  the  signs  of  the  times  when 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


143 


these  things  were  come  to  pass,  till  the  time  of  the 
destruction  of  their  Nation  and  the  close  of  the 
Mosaic  Dispensation,  with  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 

Finally,  it  must  never  be  forgotten,  that  the 
prophetic  Writings  throughout  are  designed  to  serve 
for  the  edification  of  that  new  City  of  God,  which 
should  arise  from  the  ashes  of  the  old  and  establish 
that  world-wide  Kingdom  of  God  to  which  belongs 
also  the  analogous  course  of  predictive  Prophecy  in 
the  New  Testament,  even  unto  the  End  of  the  World 
— when  the  sure  word  of  Prophecy  shall  cease 
because  its  work  is  done  and  its  fulfilment  is 
accomplished. 


ESSAY  IX 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 

A  training  even  in  the  rudiments  of  Science  is  of 
extreme  value,  for  its  inculcation  of  order,  clarity' 
and  impartiality  in  thought ;  as  well  as  for  deeply 
impressing  the  conviction  that  in  all  the  greatest 
subjects  of  thought,  the  value  of  the  processes 
employed  in  investigation  must  be  checked  and  the 
value  of  the  results  arrived  at  determined — 

1.  By  consideration  of  the  Postulates  assumed 

prior  to  inquiry. 

2.  By  critical  substantiation  of  the  validity  of 

the  Premises  employed  in  argument. 

3.  By  a  studied  appropriateness  in  the  methods 

of  investigation  used  to  the  nature  of  the 
material  possessed. 

4.  By  regard  to  the  complete  range  of  evidence 

possible  and  the  estimate  of  any  cumulative 
force  it  may  exhibit. 

5.  By  refusal  to  regard  as  proved  results,  positions 

arrived  at  by  logical  processes  in  spheres 
in  which  our  knowledge  is  too  limited  to 
supply  the  assurance  of  their  validity. 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE  145 

6.  By  scrupulous  allowance  for  the  “  personal 

equation/’ 

7.  By  recognition  of  the  provisional  character  of 

“  working  hypotheses.” 

8.  By  verification  of  references  where  such  are 

involved. 

9.  By  willingness  to  consider  fresh  evidence,  and 

correct  the  statement  of  results,  and  their 

bearing,  accordingly. 

10.  By  respect  for  authority  without  paralysis  to 

research. 

It  cannot  be  stated  too  strongly  that,  quite  apart 
from  its  results,  Science  by  the  advocacy  of  “ Method” 
is  an  inestimable  benefactor— not  least  to  Theology — 
yet  this  fact  should  not  obscure  the  limitations 
involved  in  the  nature  of  “  Science.” 

Science  is  ordered  knowledge.  The  facts  of  Science 
are  the  contents  of  consciousness,  whether  derived 
from  Nature  without  or  Nature  within,  so  far  as 
they  can  be  apprehended  by  the  intellect  as  fixed, 
ordered,  settled. 

Thus,  scientific  Knowledge  is  not  co-extensive 
with  Personal  Consciousness,  and  is  but  One  form  of 
Knowledge  possible  to  it. 

Science,  then,  being  the  ordered  intellectual 
apprehension  of  the  Universe,  it  demands  in  its 
Objects  (Matter  and  Mind)  a  corresponding  Reason¬ 
ableness — a  parallel  fitness  for  rational  investigation  ; 
that  is  to  say,  Nature  must  present  a  rational  order, 
if  Nature  is  to  be  rationally  understood. 


L 


146  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  Postulate  of  Uniformity  is  the  pre-supposition 
without  which  Intellect  cannot  employ  itself  upon 
the  Universe. 

This  assumption  of  the  “  rational  order  ”  of  the 
Universe,  this  necessary  Postulate,  without  which 
there  can  be  no  "  Science  ”  at  all,  is  not  based  upon 
the  experience  of  the  past — recorded  or  otherwise, 
for  this  could  only  afford  a  presumption,  not  justify 
a  Belief,  nor  is  it  innate  prior  to  experience  ;  it  is 
based  upon  the  underlying  Unity  of  Man  and  Nature, 
in  virtue  of  which  man  recognizes  in  growing  degree, 
the  correspondence  between  himself  and  the  external 
world,  a  correspondence  which  renders  his  ordered 
thought  of  it,  the  interpreter  of  its  order. 

The  Aim  of  Science  is  the  demonstration  of  uni¬ 
versal  “  Law  ”  in  nature,  and  thus  the  vindication 
of  its  cardinal  assumption,  namely,  that  the  universe 
presents  to  the  human  mind,  the  spectacle  not  of 
chance-medley,  but  of  an  order  conformable  to  the 
thinking  faculty — a  Unity. 

Towards  this  end,  the  establishment  of  the  “  laws 
of  Nature  ”  or  “  natural  laws  ”  is  contributory  ; 
for  a  natural  "  law  ”  is  the  statement  of  an  ordered 
succession  in  phenomena,  ascertainable  by  observa¬ 
tion  and  experiment,  which  commends  itself  to  the 
human  mind  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  invested 
with  the  attributes  of  Universality,  Uniformity,  and 
Invariability. 

The  Objects  of  Science  are  threefold,  viz. — 

i.  Matter,  or  rather  those  properties  of  it 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE  147 

evidenced  by  phenomena  presented  to 
sense. 

2.  Mind,  or  rather  those  properties  of  it  evidenced 

by  phenomena  presented  to  the  inward 
sense,  that  is  to  say,  the  contents  of  self- 
consciousness. 

(On  the  existence  of  these  depends  the 
possibility  of  “  Observation.”) 

3.  Energy,  or  the  "  capacity  for  work,”  that  is 

for  becoming. 

(On  the  existence  of  this  depends  the 
possibility  of  “  Experiment.”) 

Science  tends  to  a  belief  in  two  great  Principles, 
viz. — 

1.  The  Constancy  of  the  Cosmos. 

(This  principle  taken  alone,  is  favour¬ 
able  to  Materialism  as  applied  to  Matter, 
and  to  Determinism  as  applied  to  Mind.) 

2.  The  Conservation  of  Energy. 

(This  principle  taken  alone,  is  favour¬ 
able  to  Pantheism.) 

Science  tends  to  a  belief  in  these  two  great 
Principles,  because  these  would  reduce  to  a  stable 
Unity — to  the  simplest  Systemic  Order,  those 
elements,  which  strictly  speaking,  it  is  alone  able 
to  recognize  as  constituting  the  Cosmos. 

Of  the  nature  of  Matter,  Mind,  and  Energy,  in 
themselves,  Science  is  profoundly  and  necessarily 
ignorant. 

Science  can  know  nothing  of  "  Substance,”  or  of 


148  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

"  Force  ”  in  the  sense  of  a  Principle  that  works, 
i.e.  of  Power  as  a  cause. 

Moreover  Science  is  entirely  ignorant  as  to  the 
nature  of  Space  and  Time,  the  inalienable  Conditions 
of  its  exercise. 

Matter,  Mind,  Energy,  Space  and  Time,  are 
assumed  to  Be — because  “  knowledge  ”  is  un¬ 
thinkable  without  them  ;  themselves  incapable  of 
definition,  they  furnish  all  that  is  definable,  and 
terms  in  which  to  define  it. 

In  a  word,  there  is  a  Metaphysical  background 
to  Science,  which  does  not  cease  to  be  a  necessity, 
even  if  its  existence  be  ignored  or  its  necessity  denied. 

For  Science  is  not  exhaustive  of  all  possible 
knowledge. 

There  is  a  Knowledge  Why,  as  well  as  a  Know¬ 
ledge  What ;  a  Knowledge  of  Purpose  as  well  as  a 
Knowledge  of  Uniformity  ;  a  Knowledge  of  what  is, 
as  well  as  a  Knowledge  of  what  appears  and  obtains. 

The  Limitations  of  Science  are  well  exhibited  by 
its  treatment  of  “  Force/’ 

Science  can  properly  deal  with  “  force  ”  only  as 
an  observed  phenomenon,  i.e.  as  a  measurable 
action  upon  a  body  affecting  its  position  ;  and  its 
relation  to  other  bodies,  thereby,  as  a  configurate 
system. 

In  other  words,  Science  states  certain  Effects, 
such  as,  that  a  given  force  is  always  proportionate 
to  the  acceleration  imparted  by  its  action  to  a  given 
mass  ;  which  acceleration  will  increase  or  diminish 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


149 


in  inverse  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  matter  acted 
upon — without  entering  into  the  question  as  to  any 
Cause  or  Influence  conceived  of  as  producing  that 
effect  of  displacement.  It  states  in  fact  what 
obtains,  not  why  it  obtains  ;  and  the  statement  of 
what  obtains,  constitutes  a  natural  “  law/’ 

For  Force  is  not  a  physical  entity,  and  can  only 
be  measured  in  terms  of  motion  produced  upon  a 
quantity  of  matter,  as  exhibited  by  a  change  of 
configuration  in  any  given  system— -so  that  the 
formulation  of  a  Natural  Law  is  wholly  severed 
from  any  connection  with  force  in  itself;  that  is, 
from  Force  that  Is  as  distinct  from  Force  that  Does. 

Yet  it  is  constantly  the  case,  that  such  a  Law  is 
itself  endowed  with  the  foreign  attribute  of  Potency, 
as  if  it  were  causal  in  itself. 

This  error  is  due  to  the  illegitimate  confusion 
between  Science  and  its  metaphysical  basis,  and  a 
like  retribution  is  consequent  on  every  violation  of 
the  limitations  of  Science. 

Observation  and  Experiment,  and  the  Postulates, 
or  so-called  “  principles  ”  of  Science  in  the  realm  of 
Mind  and  Matter,  cannot  touch  the  realm  of 
Personality  (Theology),  or  the  realm  of  Being  (Meta¬ 
physics)  . 

Even  if  exhaustive,  Science  can  only  know  pheno¬ 
mena  ;  there  are  correlated  realms  to  which  it  has 
no  access. 

The  so-called  Scientific  Method,  is  only  the 
Rational  Method,  common  to  the  attainment  of  all 


i5o  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


knowledge,  applied  with  a  restricted  aim  in  a  limited 
sphere. 

Science  records  and  systematizes  ;  it  explains 
nothing,  determines  nothing,  in  any  ultimate  sense. 

Revelation  alone  can  do  this  ;  and  Theology  is 
the  application  of  the  Scientific  Method  to  the 
systematization  of  its  disclosures. 

Scientific  Explanation  is  the  resolution  of  co¬ 
ordinate  or  successive  phenomena  into  co-ordinate 
or  successive  antecedents,  the  ultimate  nature,  basis, 
and  cause  of  which  remains  unknown  ;  and  Scientific 
Finality  can  only  afford  Unification  into  a  pheno¬ 
menal  System,  the  principle  of  unity  of  which  is 
still  undetermined. 

Natural  Science  can  only  deal  with  the  surface 
of  the  Universe  ;  it  cannot  know  true  Substance, 
basal  Unity,  absolute  Being. 

It  is  in  its  Analysis,  that  Science  is  strong  ;  on 
its  constructive  side,  the  “  personal  equation  ”  and 
the  imaginative  hypothesis  cause  a  passage  out  of 
the  true  Scientific  realm,  into  that  of  the  Practical 
and  Philosophical,  or  judicial  and  speculative 
realms. 

The  Facts  of  Science  are  the  “  facts  ”  of  sense  ; 
the  Certainties  of  Science  are  the  facts  of  sense,  so 
far  as  they  are  rationally  perceived,  relatively  under¬ 
stood,  and  quantitatively  estimated. 

In  a  word,  the  sphere  of  Science  is  the  sphere  of 
phenomenal  relations  and  conditions  ;  just  as  the 
sphere  of  Philosophy  is  the  sphere  of  real  being  and 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE  151 

the  absolute  ;  and  the  sphere  of  Theology  is  personal 
being — God  and  the  Soul. 

Natural  Science  is,  therefore,  essentially  quantita¬ 
tive  ;  Theology  essentially  qualitative  in  its  estima¬ 
tions. 

The  Charm  of  Science  lies  in  its  hypotheses,  not 
in  its  facts  ;  while  the  daringness  of  its  Speculations, 
the  remorselessness  of  its  Procedure,  the  profundity 
of  its  Ignorances  and  the  excitement  of  its  uncertain¬ 
ties,  supply  an  ample  field  for  gratification  of  the 
Imagination,  pride  of  Intellect,  stimulation  of  Spirit, 
and  enthusiasm  of  Action — coupled  as  these  are, 
with  the  lowrer  yet  real  attractions,  of  the  rapidity 
of  its  progress  (often  in  unexpected  directions),  and 
the  obvious  usefulness  of  many  of  its  applications 
to  increase  of  comfort,  the  convenience  of  ordered 
physical  well-being,  and  advance  in  the  social 
arrangements  of  civilization,  traffic,  and  trade. 


PRAYER 

"  God  ”  has  always  been  prayed  to,  yet  diffi¬ 
culties  have  often  been  raised  as  to  the  reasonable¬ 
ness  of  prayer. 

They  centre  in  our  extended  vision  of  the  “  reign 
of  law.” 

It  is  so  easy  to  regard  “  law  ”  as  something 
outside  mind ;  something  external  like  human 
legislation ;  so  simple  to  regard  law  as  a  necessity 
imposed  on  matter,  or  as  a  result  of  the  material 
constitution  of  the  universe,  that  no  room  seems 


152  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

left  for  “  interpositions  ”  of  a  personal  providence 
or  absolute  answers  to  definite  prayers. 

By  thinking  in  either  of  these  ways  men  do 
undoubtedly  arrive  at  a  belief  in  necessity,  or  Fate 
ruling  over  all ;  having  like  the  Greeks  of  old  set 
fate  behind  the  throne  of  Zeus,  if  not  upon  the  throne 
of  an  ejected  God. 

It  needs  to  be  remembered  that  “  law  ”  has  no 
existence  save  an  ideal  one,  that  it  is  we  who  have 
an  “  idea  ”  of  Law. 

In  nature,  as  Nature,  nothing  is  traceable  but 
succession,  “  all  things  fleet,”  as  the  ancient  philo¬ 
sopher  concluded  from  his  observation  of  the  face  of 
all  things.  It  is  only  when  we  view  nature  with 
reflection ,  and  scrutinize  it  with  thought,  that  we 
are  brought  to  see  the  realm  of  Law  extending 
everywhere. 

It  is  because,  exercising  man’s  divine  prerogative 
of  ruling ,  as  well  as  naming  every  creature, — it  is 
because  we  bring  the  appearances  of  Nature  under 
our  mind’s  sovereignty,  that  we  read  first  of  all, 
forces  like  our  own  will,  working  throughout  the 
universe  and  imparting  movement  to  its  inert  mass, 
and  then  see,  as  it  were,  that  universe,  so  quickened 
from  the  dead,  become  plastic — a  great  organism 
capable  of  developing  after  its  kind  and  existing 
in  ordered  ways,  by  virtue  of  the  law  which  rules 
within  us. 

We  bring  all  things  under  subjection  to  law, 
because  we  ourselves  are  under  the  highest  of  all 
law — the  law  of  righteousness,  the  law  of  likeness  to 
God,  “  Whose  service  is  perfect  freedom.” 

This  being  the  case,  we  can  view  the  universe  as 
“  under  law,”  not  because  it  is  a  strange  self-existing 
machine,  a  substitute  for  our  idea  of  God,  but  because 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


153 


it  is  under  “law”  as  present  in  the  thought 
of  God  ;  that  God,  Who  is  “  over  all  and  through 
all  and  in  all,”  immanent  in  Creation,  and  “  in 
Whom  ”  is  “  Life  ”  and  all  true  “  Being.” 

Thus,  “  law  ”  becomes,  as  apprehended  by  us, 
the  partial  expression  of  a  perfect  Nature,  an  infinite 
Wisdom,  an  almighty  Power  ;  and  if  it  is  permissible 
with  reverence  to  speak  of  “  God’s  Character  ” 
(when  all  other  character  is  marked  by  its  imperfec¬ 
tion,  and  This  is  the  sum  of  all  perfection),  then  the 
laws  observed  in  Creation,  form  indications,  so  far 
as  they  go,  of  the  Character  of  Him  "  with  Whom 
is  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of  turning.” 

Thus,  it  is  possible  to  confront  the  Reign  of  Law 
in  Creation,  not  only  without  dismay,  but  even  with 
complacency ;  for  a  passage  has  been  secured  from 
the  realm  of  Things,  concerning  which  in  themselves 
we  can  know  nothing,  to  the  realm  of  Persons 
concerning  which  we  can  know  much,  and  it  becomes 
possible  to  give  weight  to  the  thought — of  how 
vividly  we  realize,  day  by  day,  the  difficulty  we  have 
in  understanding  more  than  the  main  and  leading 
lines  of  character,  even  in  those  most  familiar  and 
best  known  to  us — we  can  remember,  how  difficult 
it  is  from  what  we  know,  to  calculate  the  nature  of 
their  response  to  our  appeals,  though  this  conviction 
never  hinders  our  making  such,  in  practical  inter¬ 
course  or  urgent  emergency  ;  nor,  it  may  be  added, 
is  our  confidence  misplaced — for  most  often  “  the 
event  justifies  the  action.” 

How  much  more  must  this  be  true  of  God,  Whose 
Nature  is  infinite  ;  even  accepting  the  knowledge 
He  has  vouchsafed  of  Himself  in  Revelation  ! 

Certainly,  the  Laws  of  Nature  as  we  know  them, 
may  and  do  reveal  somewhat  of  what  God  is — they 


154  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

can  neither  exhaust  His  Being,  nor  paralyze  His 

Will. 

To  those  who  confess  One  God — the  “  all- 
sovereign/ ’  the  probability  that  prayer  may  be 
answered  is  unmistakably  great,  even  though  the 
obscurity  of  How  God  can  and  whether  He  Will 
answer  prayer,  remains  as  great  as  before — hence, 
a  conviction  which  has  ever  swayed  men  with  the 
force  of  a  certainty,  and  they  have  believed,  at 
least,  in  a  God  who  hears  prayer,  if  they  have  been 
uncertain  whether  He  would  answer. 

But,  if  God  is  indeed  our  Father  and  we  are  His 
Children — capable  of  becoming  “  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,”  then,  a  spiritual  Tie  between  our¬ 
selves  and  God,  predicates  fellowship  with  Him  ; 
and  Prayer  becomes  “  natural  ”  to  those  who  have 
a  moral  claim  on  Him,  as  He  has  a  moral  Rule  over 
them. 

When  we  confess  the  Name  of  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  we  pass  from  conjecture  to  certainty — the 
certainty,  not  of  reason  but  of  Faith  ;  established 
upon  His  assured  promise,  “  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
the  Father  in  My  Name,  He  will  give  it  you.” 

Believing  in  Him  is  the  best  ground  for  believing 
Him ;  and  belief  gives  assurance  that  Prayer  is 
never  in  vain,  while  manifold  experience  witnesses 
to  its  answers. 

For  the  Christian,  there  can  be  no  question  in 
the  matter,  no  difficulty  in  Prayer,  although  much 
obscurity  about  it. 

MIRACLES 

The  prepossession  against  Miracle  is  largely 
founded  upon  the  postulate  of  the  “  Uniformity  of 
Nature.” 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


155 


This  is  a  true  principle,  but  finite  knowledge  is 
apt  to  apply  it  too  partially — by  identifying  the  range 
of  known  uniformities  in  Nature,  with  the  unknown 
Uniformity  of  Nature. 

The  beginning  of  the  Universe,  the  beginning  of 
Life,  the  beginning  of  Man,  the  beginning  of  Christ- 
life  in  the  w7orld — all  these  mark  the  evolution  of  an 
old  "  order/'  it  may  be ;  they  undoubtedly,  mark 
each  the  incoming  of  a  new7  uniformity,  involve 
a  new  science  and  necessitate  a  new  conception  of 
wrhat  the  principle  of  uniformity  includes. 

This  consideration  is  sufficiently  clear,  even  apart 
from  reflection  upon  such  problems  as  are  afforded, 
for  instance,  by  the  existence  and  incidence  of 
Genius,  to  say  nothing  of  the  asserted  occurrence  of 
Inspiration. 

The  denial  of  Miracle  arises  less  from  a  keen-felt 
wTant  of  evidence  than  from  a  deep-seated  prejudice, 
narrow7  in  view,  powerful  in  influence  and  very  human 
— but  equally  remote  from  the  scientific  spirit  which 
seeks  to  guard  the  effects  of  bias  on  judgment,  as 
alien  to  that  rational  investigation  which  exhausts 
every  factor  in  a  problem  and  gives  to  each  due 
weight. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  crucial  Miracle  of  all,  that 
of  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord  ;  in  this  case,  the 
evidence  of  testimony  is  remarkably  full  and  im¬ 
pressive,  yet  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  confine 
the  “  evidence  ”  for  the  Resurrection  to  the  record 
of  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Lord,  or  to  gauge 
its  value,  or  their  likelihood,  in  isolation  ;  although 
the  veracity  of  these  accounts,  and  their  worth  as 
testimony  to  the  actual  occurrence  of  an  Historic 
Fact,  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  spiritual  corre¬ 
spondence  their  recitals  exhibit,  when  taken  as  a 


156  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


whole  and  in  detail — between  that  which  they 
narrate,  and  the  conceivable  nature  of  the  case,  and 
the  apparent  needs  of  the  individuals  to  whom  they 
were  severally  made. 

There  can  be  no  question  how  greatly  they  gain 
in  evidential  force,  striking  naturalness,  and  coherent 
completeness,  when  thus  viewed. 

But  the  problem  appears  much  more  complex, 
and  its  evidence  more  subtle  and  dependent  for  its 
conclusive  character  on  the  cumulative  support  and 
the  convergent  agreement  of  a  manifold  approach. 

The  "  evidence  ” — in  its  narrowest  sense — for  the 
Resurrection,  seems  related  to  the  conviction  of  its 
truth,  in  a  way  to  some  extent  analogous  to  that  in 
which  the  so-called  “  proofs  ”  of  the  existence  of 
God  confirm  a  belief  in  Him. 

That  conviction  rests  ultimately  on  the  recogni¬ 
tion  of  the  personal  appeal  the  Divine  Personality 
makes  to  a  complete  and  normal  human  personality 
in  us. 

The  Person  of  Christ,  as  presented  in  the  Gospels, 
has  a  Divine  distinction  which  makes  the  Resurrec¬ 
tion  antecedently  probable  ;  and  the  place  which  It 
holds  in  the  spiritual  development  of  History,  renders 
such  inevitable. 

Moreover,  the  mystical  experience  of  the  believer, 
in  the  Communion  of  his  Lord,  reveals  the  truth  of 
the  permanence  of  that  Life,  in  the  perfection  of 
its  Humanity  and  in  correspondence  with  the  full 
needs  of  our  own  body  and  soul. 

An  "  agnostic  ”  approach,  as  if  dealing  with  a 
matter  of  intellect  alone,  is  quite  impossible  in  this 
matter — for  the  whole  problem  is  inevitably  coloured 
by  the  presuppositions  of  a  lifetime  and  the  pre¬ 
dispositions  of  a  character  moulded  upon  them. 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


157 


Unbeliever  and  believer  alike,  recognize  Law  and 
acknowledge  Order  in  the  universe  ;  but,  in  the 
outlook  of  the  Believer,  Law  is  more  inclusive  and 
Order  more  profound.  In  “  laws  ”  the  believer  sees 
the  Sacraments  of  the  Thoughts  of  God  ;  in  the 
highest  “  order  ”  of  all  things,  the  Will  of  God  ;  and 
thus,  in  the  sum  of  all  things,  so  existing  and  related, 
the  trustworthy  though  partial  testimony  to  that 
Divine  Nature  which  the  mind  and  will  of  God 
express. 

Hence,  the  confidence  of  the  believer,  that  an 
Eternal  order  shall  be  manifested  and  a  Supreme  law 
known,  at  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  Whose 
coming  shall  be  the  Consummation  of  the  Universe 
which  He  first  created  and  still  sustains  and  rules, 
that  God  “  may  be  all  in  all.” 

Nature  seems  to  afford  no  room  for  a  personal 
providence,  when  viewed  merely  as  God’s  Creation, 
it  needs  to  be  viewed  as  God’s  “  Creature  ”  also  ; 
it  is  not  only  the  Realm  of  Order,  it  is  an  ordered 
Realm  also. 

In  Miracles,  God  transcends  the  Uniformity  of 
Nature  as  we  know  it.  He  does  not  violate  the  order 
of  Nature  as  it  is,  but  reveals  more  clearly  to  man’s 
aroused  attention,  an  underlying,  a  Moral  Unifor¬ 
mity, — His  Will,  penetrating,  swaying,  sustaining  and 
controlling  all. 

Miracles  are  essentially  Spiritual  Crises,  dominat¬ 
ing,  transcending  and  illuminating  the  physical 
conditions  amid  which  they  emerge,  and  through 
which  they  are  manifested  ;  and  as  such  they  involve 
“  action  ”  which  is  wholly  “  natural,”  make  manifest 
Good  and  Evil,  and  reveal  God  and  man — with  the 
utmost  vividness,  lucidity,  and  truth. 

The  objection  to  Miracle  is  based  only  on  Physical, 


158  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


as  contrasted  with  Ethical,  considerations  ;  whereas 
all  that  is  truly  “  natural  ”  is  really  moral  also. 

The  Laws  of  Nature,  as  the  Laws  of  God,  must 
have  a  moral  aspect  and  working. 

The  possibility  of  Miracles  arises  with  a  Personal 
God  having  Will ;  since,  even  man  has  dominion  over 
nature  by  virtue  of  the  Lordship  of  an  indomitable 
and  free  will. 

The  probability  of  Miracles  springs  from  God 
having  a  moral  Nature — a  Personality  so  far  like 
man’s. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  man,  through  his 
free  will,  has  Choice  between  good  and  evil ;  that  his 
Exercise  of  choice  has  led  to  distortion  of  nature 
within  and  disorder  in  nature  without ;  and  that  there 
is  ever  a  moral  Relation  between  God  and  man,  and 
not  merely  the  power  of  a  moral  Law  over  man, 
Miracles  become  most  probable. 

Indeed  if  God  Is,  and  is  Love,  Miracles  become 
credible  antecedently  to  experience. 

The  peculiar  Moral  Fitness  of  the  Gospel  Miracles, 
make  their  simple,  careful  study,  the  best  argument 
for  their  occurrence. 

They  solve  life,  as  they  could  never  do,  if  they 
dissolved  nature. 

But  the  moral  element  in  Miracles,  involves 
appeal  to  a  moral  sense — a  spiritual  Insight,  which 
needs  quickening  in  man,  and  which  may  be  absent 
or  deficient  ;  for  spiritual  Vision  is  the  gift  of  God, 
and  to  dwell  in  darkness  atrophies  the  sight. 

The  evolution  of  the  Miraculous  in  Revelation 
seems  to  confirm  the  view  of  their  moral,  their  essen¬ 
tially  moral,  office  and  character,  and  we  naturally 
find  those  Miracles  most  difficult  to  accept,  whose 
significance  is  most  remote  from  the  stage  of  religious 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


159 


development  that  we  ourselves  have  been  led  to 
attain,  and  their  evidence  correspondingly  alien  and 
obscure,  imperfect,  and  inconclusive. 

But,  even  when  positive  affirmation  of  their  truth 
is  suspended  for  lack  of  decisive  evidence,  such 
instances  win  the  limited  assent  due  to  the  acceptance 
of  a  body  of  better  accredited  miracle  with  which  they 
appear  to  have  more  or  less  close  association  ;  an 
assent,  provisional  in  proportion  to  the  degree  to 
which  such  a  connection  is  apparent  and  by  which 
their  spiritual  purpose  and  meaning  is  rendered 
intelligible. 

Even  the  scanty  and  sporadic  Miracles  of  the  Old 
Testament,  if  “  wonders,”  are  yet  instructive 
wonders  to  the  childhood  of  a  Nation  and  a  Faith  ; 
besides  their  frequent  office  of  forwarding  the 
temporal  establishment  of  both,  for  the  carrying 
out  of  the  ultimate  purposes  of  God  in  Revelation 
and  Redemption. 

That  no  line  is  drawn  between  those  exceptional 
coincidences  whose  laws  we  know — apart  from  their 
providential  incidence,  and  those  Miracles,  the  out¬ 
come  of  Laws  of  which  we  are  still  ignorant — was 
appropriate  to  times  when  an  equally  direct  Divine 
significance,  sanction  and  source  would  be  ascribed 
to  each,  and  understood  through  either. 

Largely  providential  or  disciplinary,  they  served 
their  end — calling  attention  to  God’s  Will,  revealing 
God’s  government  and  the  law  of  His  Purpose  more 
and  more. 

The  Miracles  of  the  New  Testament  are  “  educa¬ 
tive  ”  still  in  life’s  meaning,  but  are  "  signs  ”  for  a 
more  mature  appreciation  and  a  more  trained 
experience  to  grasp  under  a  more  advanced  spiritual 
culture. 


160  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Gospel  Miracles  are  not  only  Marvels,  not  even 
only  Signs,  they  are  rather  marvellous  and  significant 
“  Works  ”  by  which  God  in  Christ  is  manifested — 
the  Lord  of  Nature,  the  Lover  of  man,  and  the 
Redeemer  from  physical  and  moral  evil. 

The  Gospel  Miracles  especially  deal  with  Sin,  in 
type  and  antitype,  and  with  its  fruit  of  suffering 
and  death. 

They  are  characteristically  works  of  Healing — 
remedial  also,  in  Life’s  Problems  ;  not  by  dispelling 
the  obscurity  that  hangs  over  their  presence,  but  by 
bringing  Life  to  light  amid  them  and  by  giving  the 
Hope  of  Immortality  beyond  them. 

The  Gospel  Miracles  are  evidential ,  in  the  highest 
sense,  of  Divine  and  Human  Personality — the  works 
of  Eternal  Life,  in  and  unto  Eternal  Life. 

The  Incarnation  and  the  Resurrection  sum  up 
all  these  elements  and  display  them  in  their  greatest 
fulness  and  power. 

After  the  Resurrection,  Miracles  grow  especially 
personal,  of  direct  spiritual  appeal  and  of  immediately 
inward  operation. 

The  revolution  in  St.  Paul’s  case  affords  a  stupen¬ 
dous  witness  to  the  truth  of  Miracle  and  its  spiritual 
relations  ;  henceforth  he  and  we  alike  must  walk 
as  seeing  Him  Who  is  invisible  ;  or  else,  like  those 
with  him,  see  in  Miracles  only  Marvels,  incredible 
Prodigies  and  superstitious  Stumbling-blocks. 

Conversion  by  the  Word  ;  vivification  by  life- 
giving  and  life-sustaining  Sacraments  ;  the  Existence, 
Preservation  and  Growth  of  the  Church  ;  the  whole 
working  to  spiritual  ends — these  are  the  Miracles  of 
Grace  to-day. 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


i6x 


THE  DIFFICULTIES  OF  FAITH 

The  so-called  “  difficulties  of  faith  ”  are  not  really 
difficulties  to  faith  at  all,  but  rather  obscurities  which 
are  bitterly  resented  by  the  intellect— forgetful,  both 
of  the  scale  of  things  and  of  its  profound  ignorance 
in  respect  to  them,  and  also  of  its  actual  finite 
capacity  to  understand. 

Moreover,  imagination  unconsciously  fills  the 
blanks  in  our  knowledge  with  its  own  creations  and 
then  shrinks  from  the  evasive  and  exaggerated  terrors 
with  which  it  has  itself  peopled  the  void. 

Faith,  while  fully  conscious  of  these  human 
limitations  and  certainly  unable  to  ignore  the  pain 
and  distress  they  occasion,  yet  is  able  to  leave  aside 
the  unknown  to  the  almighty,  all-wise,  and  all- 
loving  care  of  that  God  Whom  it  neither  doubts  nor 
distrusts. 

That  belief  in  God  which  is  necessary  to  render 
life  intelligible  to  the  mind,  also  renders  its  contem¬ 
plation  endurable  to  the  heart. 

The  real  and — in  present  conditions  and  with 
present  capacities- — insoluble  problems  which  burden 
even  the  believer  are  those  which  arise  from  the 
seeming  clash  of  the  Divine  order  and  purpose  in 
the  “  over-lap  ”  of  Nature  and  Grace. 

The  chief  weight  of  these  problems  is  felt— 

x.  In  the  apparently  indiscriminate  and  often 
seemingly  useless  incidence  of  suffering — even  while 
it  is  fully  recognized,  not  only  how  much  suffering 
is  directly  due  to  man’s  own  initiative,  caused, 
introduced  and  hazarded  of  his  own  motion  and  at 
his  own  risk  ;  but  also  that  love  and  wisdom  may 
have  imposed  a  voluntary  self-limitation  upon  the 
power  of  the  Creator,  in  a  Creation  that  shall  be 

M 


1 62  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


sufficiently  intelligible  to  the  limited  understanding 
of  such  a  being  as  man  is  and  adapted  for  the  com¬ 
plete  range  and  exercise  of  his  capacities. 

Moreover,  it  can  at  least  be  said  that  pain  and 
suffering  are,  in  a  general  way,  of  obvious  service — as 
monitory  of  unrealized  perils,  as  corrective  moral 
discipline,  or  as  retributive  (cf.  apparently  sundry 
diseases  contributing  to  senile  decay),  and  hence 
indirectly  corrective ;  while,  beside  their  further 
indirect  but  evident  value  as  ennobling  self-sacrifice 
and  heroism,  and  in  calling  forth  thoughtfulness, 
sympathy,  and  unselfishness — they  largely  conduce 
in  a  direct  manner  to  the  formation,  elevation,  and 
mellowing  of  character,  training  in  fortitude  and 
patience,  teaching  sobriety  of  outlook  and  gravity 
of  judgment,  as  well  as  instilling  kindliness  and 
gratitude  towards  man  and  devotion  and  dependence 
towards  God. 

2.  From  the  practical  discrepancy  between  the 
inherited  importunities  and  the  imperious  claims  of 
that  “  Sex  ”  which  is  the  formative  and  central 
principle  of  organic  life  and  the  apparent  disregard 
by  Religion  of  the  insistent  difficulties  which  attend 
the  inception  of  its  maturity  under  the  actual 
conditions  of  human  life,  as  well  as  of  the  magnitude 
of  those  hindrances  to  its  legitimate  sway  which 
attend  the  course  of  social  organization  under  advanc¬ 
ing  civilization,  with  all  their  distressing,  deplorable, 
and  disastrous  consequences  of  wrong-doing,  degrada¬ 
tion,  and  misery, — it  nevertheless  being  firmly  held 
meanwhile,  that  Religion  lays  down  and  forwards 
those  true  principles  which  alone  can  temporally 
influence  and  eventually  ameliorate  the  situation. 

But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  in  this  connection 
that  even  biological  evidence  deeply  emphasizes  the 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


163 


fact  that,  in  correspondence  with  man’s  enlarged 
psychical,  social,  and  moral  capacity,  sex  in  man  is 
uplifted  far  above  the  instinctive  appetite  of  the 
brute,  and  receives  an  ethical  refinement  through 
modesty  and  passion. 

Even  the  primary  sexual  characters  are  sharply 
distinguished  from  those  obtaining  in  the  highest 
order  of  the  zoological  kingdom  beneath,  markedly 
distinct  anatomical  features,  rendering  on  the  one 
part,  the  discharge  of  function  more  dependent  upon 
emotion  and  less  mechanical;  and  on  the  other, 
providing  an  indication  of  virginity  of  the  highest 
significance  to  personal  chastity  and  in  the  family — 
and  social — relationships . 

Equally  novel  physiological  conditions,  promote 
a  monogamic  and  permanent  companionship  for 
mutual  society,  help  and  comfort,  while  securing  such 
periodic  isolation  as  shall  renew  passion,  promote 
habitual  temperance,  and  reduce  the  chances  of 
possible  exhaustion  in  both  sexes — this  seclusion 
being  under  circumstances  which  call  forth  a  tender¬ 
ness  and  impress  a  consideration,  similar  in  character 
though  less  in  intensity  to  those  excited  by  the  great 
pain  and  peril  of  childbirth,  and  therefore  of  far- 
reaching  moral  benefit. 

Finally,  the  naturally  erect  carriage  of  the  human 
frame,  not  only  displays  the  beauty  of  womanhood, 
but  clothes  it  with  modesty  ;  and  the  same  influences 
attach  to  the  corresponding  human  characteristic 
of  realized  union. 

All  these  peculiarities  are  the  more  notable,  since 
inexplicable  without  reference  to  the  dominance  of 
the  psychical  and  moral  elements  in  the  aspect  sex 
wears  for  man. 

3.  Through  the  large  inheritance  and  profound 


1 64  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


inertia  of  individual  character,  dispositions  and 
beliefs,  although  this  obviously  has  a  value  in  the 
conservation  of  that  which  is  good. 

Faith,  fully  conscious  of  these  problems,  yet 
triumphs,  knowing  well  that  all  that  can  be  urged 
as  difficulties  against  itself  is  as  nothing  in  comparison 
to  the  overwhelming  difficulties  against  itself  which 
beset  unbelief  as  soon  as  it  endeavours  seriously  to 
justify  its  existence  and  demonstrate  its  claims  to 
acceptance  by  man — being  such  as  he  is,  in  a  world 
such  as  this  is. 

No  difficulties  to  faith  can  arise  from  Science  itself 
— for  Science,  by  the  deliberate  abstraction  which 
renders  its  pursuit  possible  and  by  the  voluntary 
abnegation  which  renders  its  exercise  efficient,  must 
necessarily  remain  content  to  state  the  conditions 
which  relate  antecedent  and  consequent ;  and  process 
in  development  can  never  explain  or  affect  the  signifi¬ 
cance  of  the  results  as  we  know  them — whether 
general  or  detailed — whatever  range  evolution  may 
ultimately  be  found  to  have  had  within  the  realm 
of  life  and  whatever  factors  may  have  conditioned 
its  course. 

Hence  the  believer  need  experience  no  difficulty 
in  face  of  any  doctrine  of  evolution  that  is  not  based 
upon  philosophical  presuppositions  antagonistic  to 
belief,  nor  illegitimately  appropriated  as  their 
instrument. 

When  the  instinctive  movement  of  the  mind  finds 
refreshing  change  of  attitude  in  fixing  its  attention 
upon  the  becoming  rather  than  upon  the  being  of 
things,  this  standpoint  of  evolution  will  certainly 
remain  attractive  even  after  any  supposition  which 
has  commended  its  adoption  is  seen  to  be  evidently 
inadequate  to  justify  it. 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


165 


For  the  conception  of  evolution  affords  a  useful 
working  hypothesis,  so  long  as  it  is  regarded  as  an 
aid  to  the  interrogation  of  nature,  a  fruitful  way  of 
looking  at  things,  if  not  the  only  way  ;  a  suggestive 
interpretation  of  the  significance  of  facts  that  con¬ 
tinues  to  do  its  work  so  long  as  it  changes  in  response 
to  the  reaction  consequent  upon  a  more  exact 
appreciation  of  them. 

That  such  an  outlook  suggests  and  commends 
itself  to  the  student  of  morphology  rather  than  to 
the  physiologist  is  not  without  drawback. 

For  the  morphologist  is  perhaps  not  unlikely  to 
fail  in  appreciating  the  full  significance  of  such  a 
conception  as  that  of  "  species/'  and  to  tend  to 
regard  “  type  ”  as  a  purely  abstract  conception 
which  requires  explanation,  say  as  the  structural 
witness  to  kinship  by  descent,  rather  than  as  that 
source  of  explanation  which  it  is  to  the  biologist, 
when  viewed  as  the  rhythm  of  growth  determined 
by  the  physiological  constitution  of  the  organism. 

The  serial  arrangement  of  forms  is  obviously  no 
proof  of  their  genetic  connection  or  descent,  although 
it  may  suggest  such  an  explanation  of  its  possibility, 
and  far  too  little  is  known  about  the  physiological 
conditions  controlling,  influencing,  and  attending 
heredity,  growth,  and  structural  elaboration,  to 
dogmatize  upon  the  meaning  of  sequences  of  event 
or  correlations  of  parts  in  which  these  play  an  un¬ 
known  but  not  therefore  negligible  part. 

The  same  caution  appears  to  be  required  in  dealing 
with  this  matter  as  certainly  exists  in  approaching 
the  problem  of  the  inheritance  of  acquired  characters, 
in  which  any  conception  of  the  isolation  of  the 
germinal  cell  from  its  somatic  carrier  is  at  once 
checked  by  the  consideration  of  their  prolonged  and 


1 66  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


intimate  association  at  least  throughout  the  highly 
plastic  and  sensitive  period  antecedent  to  maturity  ; 
while  in  presence  of  the  elaboration  of  any  given  cell 
form,  it  is  impossible  to  forget  that  such  affords  the 
instrument  of  living  substance  rather  than  the 
boundary  of  its  activity : — the  unity  of  the  organism 
underlying  all  structure  and  all  function,  and  the 
source  of  that  unity  being  the  life  which  evades  all 
research  yet  controls  all  change,  development,  and 
growth. 

More  particularly — it  is  evident  that  to  construe 
organs  as  “  rudimentary  ”  or  “  atrophied/’  or  to 
derive  general  likeness,  at  any  stage  of  growth  from 
common  descent,  or  to  ascribe  homologies  to  the 
same  source,  is  to  put  a  theoretical  construction 
upon  the  analogy  or  homology  perceived ;  the 
demonstration  that  the  theory  is  correct  or  even 
adequate  is  much  more  difficult. 

The  vast  diversity  of  living  forms  and  the  com¬ 
plexity  of  their  relations  admits  of  no  simple  explana¬ 
tion  by  any  single  principle  or  set  of  principles,  but 
can  be  partially  understood  when  viewed  under 
different  aspects,  from  different  points  of  view — as 
is  indeed  the  case  with  that  whole  universe  of  which 
they  form  a  part. 

As  the  result  of  such  a  survey,  it  becomes 
more  and  more  evident  that,  as  has  been  finely 
said,  “  The  *  ordained  becoming  ’  of  organisms, 
the  belief  in  ‘  final  causes/  the  evident  realization 
in  Nature  of  *  Divine  prototypal  ideas/  and  the 
facts  that  the  physiological  phenomena  of  each 
living  being  are  the  result  of  an  immanent  and 
indivisible  force  ”  (or  factor)  “  dominating  it,  will 
not  only  be  justified  but  recognized  as  necessary 
truths.” 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


167 


Nor  is  it  in  the  least  improbable  that  the  crude 
phraseology  of  Paley's  “  Natural  Theology  ”  may 
soon  be  found  more  easily  adjusted,  and  lesshindrance 
to  the  understanding  of  nature  than  crude  specula¬ 
tions  which  for  a  time  obscured  its  permanent  and 
substantial  value. 

A  premature  endeavour  to  account  for  wide 
ranges  of  facts  under  a  connected  scheme,  rather 
than  to  ascertain  wide  ranges  of  connected  fact, 
combined  with  an  inadequate  appreciation  of  the 
metaphysical  conditions  involved  and  with  a  rash 
confidence  as  to  what  was  attainable — led  to  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  being  given  over 
to  the  formulation  and  enunciation  of  a  vast  amount 
of  hasty  generalization  on  many  subjects,  which 
derives  such  value  as  it  possesses  from  the  application 
of  sceptical  investigation  to  its  statements — this, 
yielding  on  the  one  hand,  a  residue  of  established 
data,  and  on  the  other,  serving  to  display  the  vast¬ 
ness  of  our  ignorance,  the  fragmentary  nature  and 
imperfect  connection  of  the  information  possessed, 
and  the  desirability  of  ascertaining  as  completely, 
as  fully  and  as  far  as  possible,  the  actual  facts  on 
any  of  the  innumerable  specific  points  involved — 
and  in  this  way  guiding  investigation,  while,  by  the 
isolation  of  problems,  rendering  detailed  attack 
possible  under  the  suggestions  of  verifiable  conjecture. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  elaboration  and 
promulgation  of  the  evolution  hypothesis,  acting  as 
it  did  upon  the  unbalanced  enthusiasm  of  immature 
studies  dazzled  by  the  wonder  of  new  worlds  opening 
before  them,  resulted  in  the  putting  back  of  the 
chronometer  of  scientific  progress,  and  to  a  still  more 
serious  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  actual  position 
attained, — of  which  the  Present  is  only  now  becoming 


1 68  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


conscious  and  hardly  yet  able  to  recognize  the  amount 
of  check  received,  or  to  allow  for  its  disturbing 
influence. 

Sedgwick’s  criticism  has  still  its  application  and 
necessity,  and  its  searching  challenge  remains  un¬ 
answered  and  unanswerable  : — “  Many  .  .  .  wide 
conclusions  are  based  upon  assumptions  which  can 
neither  be  proved  nor  disproved,  why  then  express 
them  in  the  language  and  arrangement  of  philoso¬ 
phical  induction  ?  ” 

But  his  noble  conclusion  remains  even  more 
significant  and  helpful,  as  well  as  more  inspiring  : — 
“  It  is  in  the  conscious  glory  of  organic  science  that 
it  does  through  final  causes  link  material  and  moral ; 
and  yet  does  not  allow  us  to  mingle  them  in  our  first 
conception  of  laws  and  our  classification  of  such 
laws,  whether  we  consider  one  side  of  nature  or  the 
other.” 

In  the  Schools,  Science  like  Art  constantly  tends  to  become 
divorced  from  Nature. 

The  aim  and  result  of  a  mechanical  interpretation  of 
the  universe  is  to  express  all  that  is  and  all  that  happens 
in  terms  of  matter  and  motion  and  quantities  that  are  functions 
of  motion  or  position — the  notion  of  matter  being  reduced 
to  that  of  inertness  subjected  to  motion  or  destitute  of  it,  lest 
any  reaction  should  introduce  complication — and  motions 
being  measurable  ;  while  the  conception  of  the  universe  as  a 
closed  dynamical  system  is  no  less  conventional. 

All  that  can  be  thus  obtained  is  uniform  statement  in  terms 
of  a  convenient  conceptual  shorthand. 

We  can  only  deal  with  Nature  by  subsuming  its  inexhaustible 
variety  under  serviceable  uniformities.  The  discursive  intellect 
of  man  is  efficient  to  deal  with  information  from  nature  in  such 
a  way  as  to  enable  us  to  acquire  a  more  or  less  comprehensive 
and  coherent  appreciation  of  its  aspect,  and  to  translate  its 
changes  of  aspect  into  such  approximately  accurate  terms  of 
quantitative  relation  as  best  enable  us  to  apply  our  apprehension 
of  them  to  purposes  of  practical  utility.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  implications  of  Nature  are  alone  intelligible  to  our  personality . 
Our  appreciation  of  the  real  unity  of  nature  is  derived  from  the 


RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE 


169 


characteristics  of  our  own  real  unity  or  personality — anything 
corresponding  to  which  must  underlie  Nature  as  appearance. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  one  aspect  of  organic  nature  we  can 
understand  is  its  teleological  aspect — Nature  observed  as 
dominated  by  an  inner  law  of  development ;  while  the  prevail¬ 
ing  impression  is  one  of  stability, — since  the  adaptation  of 
organisms  as  observed  is  the  expression  of  their  actual  relations, 
and  need  not  be  interpreted  at  all  as  the  outcome  of  their 
moulding  to  the  conditions  of  their  life,  and  the  balance  of  life 
is  much  more  evident  than  the  struggle  for  existence,  except 
where  disturbed  by  man ;  while  adaptiveness  so  far  as  manifested 
takes  the  form  of  constitutional  resilience,  physiological  com¬ 
pensation,  or  structural  regeneration,  conservative  of  the 
normality  of  organisms  as  existing  rather  than  of  readjustment 
in  the  way  of  change. 

The  true  function  of  natural  science  is  the  description,  the 
accumulation,  of  the  results  of  observation  and  experiment,  and 
the  statement  of  those  results  in  ever  more  and  more  inclusive 
and  comprehensive  terms. 

The  interpretation  of  these  inductive  generalizations  does 
not  belong  to  Science  but  to  Philosophy,  and  Philosophy  itself 
cannot  fail  to  be  profoundly  affected  in  its  turn  by  Religion. 


ESSAY  X 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY 

If  Philosophy  is  regarded  as  providing  anything 
more  than  an  efficient  exercise  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  mental  powers,  or  as  implying  more  than  any 
mere  examination  into  the  processes  of  mind  and 
of  reasoning,  it  becomes  at  once  apparent  that  it 
concerns  itself  with  investigations  and  inquiries  of 
the  most  serious  import  possible  to  man. 

For  Philosophy  seeks  to  pierce,  through  the 
outward  play  and  movement  evident  in  all  that 
appears,  to  those  underlying  causes  which  are 
beneath  the  ever-changing  surface  and  afford  it 
explanation. 

Nor  does  Philosophy  only  seek  to  sound  the 
restless  sea  of  change  until  it  attains  the  repose  of 
deeps  that  lie  below  ;  it  desires,  even  more  keenly, 
to  fathom  knowledge  of  the  things  that  really  are, 
and  lay  the  foundations  of  life  upon  the  rockbed 
itself  of  understanding. 

To  this  research,  therefore,  Philosophy  devotes 
all  the  combined  wealth  provided  by  funds  of 
internal  reason,  external  experience,  and  personal 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  171 


intuition  ;  drawing  on  all,  since  to  rely  on  internal 
reason  alone  leads  to  rationalism,  dependence  on 
external  experience  alone,  to  materialism,  and  trust 
in  personal  intuition  alone  to  mysticism — and  all 
alike  spell  failure. 

Indeed  the  risks  of  failure  are  so  many  and  the 
hazard  of  failure  is  so  great,  that  there  is  much  to 
deter,  in  what  seems  the  rash  challenge  to  set  forth 
upon  an  exploration  that  assays  at  once  the  most 
vast  and  trackless  field  open  to  human  inquiry. 

Yet  the  attempted  survey  attracts  with  a 
perennial  fascination  ;  only  it  may  seem  to  en¬ 
cumber  the  paths  of  human  progress  with  the  ruins 
of  futile,  and  the  vestiges  of  effete,  systems. 

But  indeed  the  name  itself  of  Philosophy — the 
**  Love  of  Wisdom/’  not  only  points  to  an  ideal 
temper,  it  also  holds  before  man  the  most  tempting 
of  rewards,  and  certainly  if  its  practical  aspects — 
as  “  The  History  of  Speculative  Opinion,”  and  “  The 
Expression  of  Points-of-View,”  be  presented  to 
the  mind,  there  is  an  intensely  human  appeal  in  the 
record  of  how  individual  men  have  looked  at  life 
and  what  they  have  thought  it  meant  ;  and  an 
heroic  audacity  of  adventure  about  each  attempt  to 
form  a  complete  and  connected  System  of  the 
Universe,  that  shall  provide  a  perfect  and  entire 
comprehension  of  it  under  terms  of  the  intellect, 
and  reveal  at  once  What  is  and  the  Whole  it  is. 

Moreover,  the  benefits  of  Philosophy  in  relation 
to  Faith  are  great  and  must  not  be  overlooked, 


172  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


most  evidently  and  especially,  its  assertion  of  the 
dignity  of  mind.  The  inextinguishable  persistence 
and  power  of  Philosophy  by  the  mere  fact  of  its 
Existence,  is  a  constant  protest  against  the  en¬ 
croaching,  insistent — and  sometimes — overweening 
claim  that  Physics  is  our  only  true  Wisdom,  and 
that  material  Phenomena  are  the  sole  objects  of 
positive  knowledge. 

Nor  is  this  its  only  or  chief  service  in  this  direction, 
for  by  dwelling  on  the  immaterial  side  of  man’s 
life,  it  brings  forward  strongly  what  Science  may 
forget — the  importance  of  four  Facts  and  of  four 
Factors  that  they  involve  : — viz.  the  fact  of  con¬ 
sciousness  and  the  “  Ego,”  the  fact  of  memory 
and  personal  “  identity,”  the  fact  of  the  sense  of 
guilt  and  Conscience,  the  fact  of  the  conviction  of 
free  will  and  “  Responsibility.” 

Nor  must  another  service  of  Philosophy  to  Faith 
be  forgotten. 

By  a  strange  yet  true  paradox  the  very  ambition 
that  seems  so  presumptuous  in  its  aspirations  and 
so  reckless  in  its  disregard  of  those  finite  limitations 
of  human  powers  against  which  it  so  constantly 
shatters  its  reputation — causes  Philosophy  by  these 
very  results,  to  point  out  the  futility  of  reason  **  to 
satisfy  itself,”  and  to  emphasize  with  singular 
impressiveness,  how  unable  the  Reason  alone  is,  to 
afford  or  to  construct  a  stable  basis  for  morals, 
religion,  or  for  life  ;  while  at  the  same  time  to  deeper 
reflection,  Philosophy  is  seen  to  be  but  unveiling 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  173 

the  "  mystery  of  life/’  and  teaching  patient  accept¬ 
ance  of  it  ;  and  to  the  Christian,  revealing  how 
close  to  us — how  in  us  and  about  us,  lies  the  un¬ 
fathomable  ocean  of  the  “  unknown  God,”  Whom 
religion  teaches  us  to  know  and  love,  to  adore  and 
to  obey. 

The  perils  of  Philosophy  in  relation  to  Faith 
are  no  less  obvious. 

They  arise  from  the  fact  that  the  Supremacy  of 
the  intellect  becomes  the  suicide  of  "  reason  ”  ;  a 
“  reason  ”  which  is  needed  for  the  more  confirma¬ 
tion  in  Faith. 

Speculation  appears  so  vague,  arbitrary  and 
changeable  ;  yet  so  far-reaching  and  positive  ;  that 
its  unsettlements  seem  to  leave  no  stable  ground 
for  faith  or  practice.  It  is  forgotten  that  intellect 
is  only  part  of  man,  and  that  it  is  neither  man's 
highest  power  to  reason,  nor  his  chiefest  function 
to  think ;  but  to  be  and  to  love,  to  believe  in  and 
to  hope,  to  worship  and  to  serve. 

It  is  forgotten,  also,  that  Intellect  is  dimmed, 
and  Reason  (the  exercise  of  intellect)  is  distorted, 
by  sin  ;  and  that  the  Intellect  is  not  the  perfect  or 
sufficient  Organ,  nor  Reason  the  perfect  or  sufficient 
Instrument,  of  Knowledge. 

Just  as  too  much  may  be  expected  from  Philo¬ 
sophy,  so  too  much  may  be  demanded  from 
Philosophy,  in  directions  from  which  it  should 
not  be  looked  for. 

Philosophy  is  not  Science,  nor  Wisdom  :  it  is 


174  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

the  quest  to  know,  the  search  after  wisdom  ;  in  a 
word,  “  speculation.” 

Philosophy  is  the  speculative  determination  of 
Being,  the  speculative  Unification  of  being. 

Not  satisfied  to  ask  merely  what  obtains,  and 
how  is  it  ordered  ;  it  must  perforce  inquire,  whence 
is  it,  and  to  what  end  ? 

In  a  word,  Philosophy  asks  in  respect  to  anything 
with  which  it  is  concerned,  What  does  it  mean  ? 
— that  is  to  say,  what  is  it  ?  what  causes  it  ?  what 
limits  it  ?  what  is  its  end  ? 

Philosophy  then  differs  from  Science  in  the  nature 
of  the  queries  it  suggests  and  strives  to  answer  ; 
and  the  difference  extends  equally  to  Method  ;  for 
each  employs  its  own  distinct  Instruments  and 
Processes. 

A  profound  contrast  exists  between  Philosophy 
and  even  those  branches  of  Science  with  which  it  is 
most  closely  and  necessarily  associated. 

Philosophy  proper,  speculates  on  sources,  signi¬ 
ficance,  scope  and  nature,  of  the  contents  of  mind  : 
using  as  its  subtlest  instruments,  that  intuition  of 
consciousness  which  comprehends  truth  presented  to 
contemplation,  and  that  insight  of  recognition 
which  apprehends  truth  suggested  to  reflection  ; 
and  its  processes  are  those  of  reasoned  deduction. 

Mental  and  Moral  Science,  on  the  other  hand, 
study  the  analysis,  determination  and  relation  of 
those  operations  of  mind  with  which  they  are  con¬ 
cerned  ;  using  as  instruments,  the  exposition  of 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  175 


introspection  and  the  observation  of  experience  ; 
and  their  processes  are  those  of  reasoned  induction. 

Hence  these  Sciences  serve  mainly  for  the  col¬ 
lection  of  facts  and  their  arrangement,  as  with 
Psychology ;  or  for  utilitarian  purposes,  as  with 
Moral  Science, — since  Moral  Science  is  simply  the 
Rule  for  Conduct  derived  from  experience,  to  attain 
ends  seemingly  desirable  to  man,  namely,  the 
happiness  or  perfection  of  himself  or  others  or  all. 

Philosophy  is  closely  connected  with  the  above 
Sciences  by  the  very  nature  of  its  primary  Problem 
and  Aim — and  hence  starts  encumbered  with  similar 
imitations. 

The  primary  Problem  of  Philosophy  is  to  ascertain 
the  source  and  character  of  human  knowledge  ;  and 
its  primary  Aim  is  therefore  “  self-knowledge/’  that 
is  to  say,  the  intellectual  apprehension  of  the 
Contents  of  consciousness  and  their  significance — 
their  distinction  (Analysis),  their  attributes  (Deter¬ 
mination),  their  relations  (Systematization)  ;  though 
necessarily  first  undertaken,  are  only  processes  and 
means  to  this  end. 

Philosophy  unaided  can,  however,  only  deal  with 
and  never  transcend  this  latter  knowledge. 

Hence  it  ends  by  a  barren  classification  or  an 
artificial  unification  unless  illumined  from  above. 

It  is  so  illumined,  by  Intuitive  Morality — the 
moral  sense  of  rightness,  beauty,  and  goodness  ; 
through  conscience  ;  and  by  Revealed  Religion. 

For  not  only  do  these  afford  the  fundamentals  of 


176  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Ethics  and  Religion, — even  Speculation  must  rest 
upon  the  confidence  that  God  is  veracious  and  will 
not  mislead,  since  the  evolution  of  logically  developed 
and  therefore  logically  satisfactory  schemes  of 
reasoning ,  or  such  based  upon  logical  abstractions, 
principles,  or  distinctions — however  carefully  ad¬ 
justed  to  harmonize  with  the  results  of  observation 
and  experiment  so  far  as  such  are  possible,  or  to 
derive  support  from  them — cannot  compare  as  a 
means  to  arrive  at  truth  or  to  establish  it,  with 
the  course  and  issue  of  a  deliberate  regard  to 
the  primary  convictions  and  actual  instincts  of 
mankind,  and  the  exercise  of  that  sound  judgment 
which  can  be  sufficiently  attained  by  man — that 
together  constitute  the  great  human  necessity  of 
"  Common  Sense.” 

Since  Philosophy  has  to  do,  not  directly  with 
the  facts  of  consciousness,  but  with  their  intellectual 
expression  as  apprehended  in  thought,  its  systems 
are  always  vitiated  by  the  imperfections  inherent 
in  all  human  attempts  at  exhaustive  intellectual 
expression — imperfections  such  as  attend  analysis, 
definition,  and  classification,  in  increasing  degree 
and  cumulative  measure. 

Hence  Philosophy  is  liable  to  serious  perversion. 

In  isolation,  it  too  readily  ends  in  becoming 
“  philosophy  falsely  so-called  ”  ;  in  barren  specula¬ 
tion  or  prolific  heresy — in  barren  speculation, 
because  the  grounds  of  Philosophy  are  vaguely  or 
imperfectly  apprehended  ;  in  prolific  heresy,  because 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  177 


the  significance  of  those  grounds  is  arbitrarily  limited 
or  concluded. 

The  danger  of  “  Systems  ”  and  Theories  either 
of  Life  or  Philosophy  is  incompleteness  and  one¬ 
sidedness,  failure  to  take  account  of  the  complexity 
of  that  with  which  they  deal.  The  apparent  exhaus¬ 
tiveness  in  such  is  a  sure  mark  of  falsity,  inasmuch 
as  it  does  not  recognize  that  “  mystery  ”  which 
belongs  to  the  whole.  Superficiality  of  view  and  an 
arbitrary  eclecticism,  in  regard  to  the  facts  of  the 
case,  are  the  bane  of  the  "  Schools. ” 

The  influence  of  this  shallow  and  dogmatic 
eclecticism  has  repeatedly  ended  by  setting  up  a 
presumptuous  and  pernicious  Gnosticism  or  Agnos¬ 
ticism  in  antagonism  to  the  Christian  Church, 
because  involving  the  Theological  errors  of  Rational¬ 
ism,  Materialism,  Scepticism,  or  Pantheism. 

The  safeguard  of  Philosophy  against  misuse,  is 
found  in  the  thankful  acknowledgment,  “  The  fear 
of  God  is  the  beginning  of  Wisdom  ”  ;  and  in  the 
steadfast  confidence  that  in  It  is  assured  what  the 
true  love  of  Wisdom  seeks. 

The  dignity  of  mind  lies  not  in  its  assertiveness, 
but  in  its  patient  waiting  upon  God,  its  reverential 
pauses,  its  docility  to  divine  guidance  and  its 
sensitiveness  to  divine  light. 

Man  must  ask  questions,  human  nature  has  a 
right  in  this,  but  it  must  ever  be  remembered  that 
the  answers  of  the  Intellect  are  after  all  purely 

tentative  and  can  possess  no  conclusive  finality ; 

N 


178  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


and  that  so  far  as  any  stable  and  assured  knowledge 
is  concerned,  Revelation  is  needed  as  a  Criticism,  an 
Illumination,  an  Expansion,  and  a  Complement. 

Yet  Philosophy  has  its  own  extreme  value  and 
the  noblest  work  to  do. 

Life  cannot  well  be  built  on  Philosophy  :  but 
Philosophy  may  furnish  its  Criticism. 

Religion  is  in  no  way  based  upon  Philosophy  : 
yet  Philosophy  may  rightly  be  its  Commentator  and 
Forerunner. 

Philosophy  cannot  displace,  overrule,  or  super¬ 
sede  Revelation  ;  but  it  can  illuminate,  illustrate 
and  interpret  the  significance  of  Revelation. 

Philosophy  asks,  Revelation  answers ;  and 
Christianity  not  only  has,  but  is  a  Philosophy 
philosophically  expressed  for  those  who  seek  after 
Wisdom  philosophically,  that  is  in  and  with  the 
spirit  of  a  little  Child — searchingly,  seriously,  simply, 
humbly,  trustfully,  docilely,  devoutly,  and  lovingly. 

Christianity  then  is  of  inestimable  benefit  to 
Philosophy. 

In  the  first  place  it  emphasizes  the  connection 
between  Speculation  and  Practice,  which  are  too 
readily  divorced.  The  Christian  speculates,  in  order 
to  practise. 

Again,  the  end  of  Philosophy  is  Being,  and 
Christianity  is  the  revelation  of  Being  ;  the  most 
profound  and  effectual  moulder  and  manifester  of 
Character,  as  well  as  the  supreme  inspiration  of 
Conduct. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  179 

Hence  religion  is,  from  this  point  of  view,  the 
supreme  Philosophy,  for  it  is  the  deepest  and  most 
powerful  spring  of  action  and  of  life,  and  of  their 
understanding. 

For,  since  He  Who  is  the  Life  proclaimed  Himself 
also  the  Truth,  we  know  “  The  Truth  ”  exists — in 
the  reality  of  a  perfect  life,  not  in  any  form  of  words 
however  completely  expressing  some  aspect  of  it. 

So,  in  respect  to  knowledge  also ;  Revelation 
gives  new  data,  for  the  solution  of  the  Problems  of 
Philosophy — accepting  all  that  can  be  deduced  from 
the  intellectual  constitution  of  man  and  from  man’s 
observation  of  the  Universe  within  and  without ; 
yet  affirming  also  that  God  has  made  known  some¬ 
thing  of  Himself,  and  thus  of  Nature  and  of  Man. 

Thus,  under  the  Economy  of  Christian  Philosophy, 
Knowledge  is  obtained,  in  different  yet  corre¬ 
sponding  ways  from  each  source  in  our  power  ;  from 
self,  by  the  insight  of  experience  ;  from  the  world, 
by  the  outlook  of  observation  ;  from  God,  by  the 
opened  vision  of  a  progressive  holiness. 

W7e  possess,  therefore,  three  sources  of  Wisdom, 
themselves  incapable  of  proof  or  disproof,  Self,  the 
World,  God,  and  not  only  two-— and  God,  and 
the  Revelation  of  God,  is  the  Key  that  unlocks  the 
hidden  stores  of  Wisdom,  so  that  men  may  bring 
forth  treasures  old  and  new ;  and  Man  become  not 
only  the  seeker  after  wisdom,  but  its  possessor  ; 
not  only  the  lover  of  wisdom,  but  its  enjoyer — for 
the  main  end  of  man  is  not  only  education  or 


iSo  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


discipline,  action  or  enlightenment,  but  “  to  possess 
God  and  to  enjoy  Him  for  ever  ”  ;  so  alone  shall  man 
attain  to  happiness  or  perfection. 

Reason  alone,  the  independent  faculties  of  man 
alone,  and  their  exercise  alone,  are  insufficient  to 
attain  that  solution  of  all  mystery  for  which  the 
Soul  of  man  yet  craves. 

The  Paths  of  Philosophy  open  out  into  that 
infinite  of  mystery  which  only  the  unoriginate 
revealing  Light  of  God  can  illuminate  with  rays  that 
form  a  path  of  glory  to  His  Throne,  through  what 
seems  else  a  trackless  waste  of  darkness  in  which  the 
"  blind  ”  Ways  of  Reason  reach  a  sudden  end, — 
until  the  irradiating  splendour  of  the  Divine  Glory 
bridges  the  chasm,  fills  their  channels,  and  proves 
their  direction  true. 

Thus,  philosophy  finds  its  redemption  and  is 
justified : — for  Philosophy  only  seeks  and  obtains, 
by  the  grace  of  God — in  experience,  in  observation, 
but  above  all  in  Revelation  and  in  Christ. 

GOD 

The  existence  of  God  is  matter  of  faith  not  of 
proof. 

The  idea  of  God  is  not  innate,  the  instinct  for 
God  is ;  thus,  the  idea  of  God  being  presented  to 
the  mind,  it  is  the  subject  of  immediate  conviction  ; 
the  mind  makes  it  its  own,  because  moulded  so  that 
it  possesses  a  fitness  for  direct  apprehension  ;  man 
has  the  capacity  to  know  God,  as  he  has  to  “  sense  ” 
all  necessary  things. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  181 


There  is  no  people  known  without  some  belief 
in  God:  however  difficult  it  is  to  give  this  belief 
befitting  expression,  and  however  an  instinctive  awe 
restrain  from  its  facile  disclosure. 

Our  conviction  that  God  is,  does  not  rest  upon 
reason,  though  reason  suggests  and  supports — 

1.  By  argument 

(а)  from  the  accidental  to  the 

substantial. 

(б)  from  the  realization  of  the  finite 

in  the  presence  of  an  ideal  of 
“  the  infinite.” 

2.  By  argument 

(a)  from  the  existence  of  the  uni¬ 
verse,  life,  and  mind,  to  a 
first  cause. 

(b)  from  the  “  rational  ”  unity, 
mutual  “  adaptation/'  and 
universal  “  order  ”  of  Crea¬ 
tion  and  the  fitness  of  all  its 
properties  and  parts  to  the 
Progress  exhibited,  even  ac¬ 
cording  to  scientific  canons, 
in  its  serial  development. 

(c)  from  the  intelligent  operation 
of  animal  instinct ;  and 
especially  from  innumerable 
suggestions  of  specific  design 
in  the  correlated  mechanisms 
of  organization. 

3.  By  argument 

from  the  Beauty  of  Nature  in  earth, 
sea,  sky,  and  the  living  creation 
(apparently  a  by-product  so  far  as 
the  impersonal  realm  is  concerned, 


in  general 


or 


more  speci¬ 
fically 


182  first  principles  of  the  church 


e.g.  the  beauty  of  flowers  de¬ 
veloped  along  with  their  attrac¬ 
tion  to  insects,  yet  appreciable 
to  man  and  God  alone  as 
“  beauty  ”),  as  well  as  from  the 
possibilities  of  Beauty  open  to 
man’s  Art  and  arising  from  the 
exercise  of  his  skill. 

4.  By  argument 

(a)  of  “  conscience,”  in  the  sense  of 

"  guilt.” 

(b)  from  the  “  ought  ”  of  the  moral 

law. 

(c)  from  the  ideal  of  spiritual 

beauty,  in  character ;  and 
of  ethical  “  goodness,”  in  way 
of  life. 

5.  By  argument 

from  soul  “  needs,” — for  worship, 
service,  Hope,  Love,  and  Trust. 

Thus,  there  are  arguments  that  develop  the 
Witness,  God  has  given  of  Himself  in  the  things  He 
has  created  ;  in  the  constitution  of  Nature,  and  yet 
more,  as  indeed  would  be  anticipated,  in  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  Man. 

The  Attributes  of  God  are  not  merely  abstract 
“  qualities,”  separable  from  the  idea  of  God  as 
“  God  ”  ;  they  are  inherent  perfections  of  His  nature, 
inseparable  from  His  nature  as  God,  that  is  to  say 
as  Spirit,  Light,  and  Love — qualities,  therefore, 
without  which  we  cannot  set  forth  the  thought  of 
God  :  the  Nature  of  God  as  Spirit,  Light,  and  Love, 
is  that  without  which  we  cannot  believe  in  Him, 
love,  trust,  hope  in,  or  worship  Him. 

The  Attributes  of  God  must,  of  necessity,  be 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  183 


exhibited  in  moral  harmony  with  the  Nature  of 
God  ;  thus,  the  justice  of  God  must  not  be  set  in 
opposition  or  contrast  to  the  Love  that  God  is — 
God  is  a  God  of  Equity,  i.e.  of  justice  which  is  moral 
justice,  Justice  tempered  and  informed  by  Mercy 
and  by  Love ;  it  is  the  Nature  of  Love  to  be  tender, 
it  is  the  Nature  of  Love  also  to  be  true. 

Finally,  to  speak  of  God  as  “  infinite  "  is  no  bare 
or  barren  abstraction,  God's  “infinity" — like  His 
“  omnipotence  " — is  inconceivably  perfect  in  kind, 
immeasurable  in  degree. 

It  may  be  added— in  respect  to  the  argument 
from  Conscience,  that  the  “  ought  "  of  Conscience 
is  inexplicable,  except  as  the  revelation  of  a  Law  of 
Holiness  ;  a  moral  “  Law,"  explicable  only  as  the 
Will  of  an  all-holy  God  and  the  expression  of  His 
Nature. 


NATURE 

The  Natural  and  the  Supernatural  are  sometimes 
regarded  as  conflicting ;  they  are  not  conflicting,  but 
contrasted  ;  in  man,  being  associated. 

Physical  nature  exhibits  the  following  charac¬ 
teristics  : — 

1.  The  existence  of  a  universal  “  Adaptation  " 

of  such  a  character  that  use  and  beauty  are 
correlated  ;  so  that  “  Nature  sleeps  like  a 
picture  while  working  like  a  machine." 

2.  The  appearance  of  "  Laws,"  i.e.  of  observed 

chains  of  sequence — the  Modes  of  God's 
working  as  apprehended  by  us. 

3.  The  suggestion  of  “  Forces,"  i.e.  of  secondary 

causes — the  Energy  of  God's  working  as 
realized  by  us. 


184  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

t 

The  Whole  presenting  the  aspect  of  a  system  of 
necessary  uniformity,  impersonal  forces,  and  invari¬ 
able  laws. 

Nature  as  manifested  in  Man,  is  evidently — 
through  its  follies,  foibles,  and  faults — a  disordered 
nature  ;  and  the  witness  of  Anthropology  confirms 
the  doctrine  of  the  Fall 1 — yet  Nature  in  Man  is 
higher  than  Nature  outside  of  Man,  because  in  Man 
there  is  a  supernatural  element  of  “  Personality/’ 
free,  self-conscious,  responsible. 


PROVIDENCE 

God,  having  created  all  things,  governs  them  all 
with  wisdom,  goodness,  power,  and  justice. 

His  government  of  Nature  is  a  government  of 
necessity  ;  His  government  of  Man  is  an  overruling 
care — whereby  through  all  things  He  works  out  the 
wise  purposes  of  His  good-will  with  the  supreme 
power  of  a  perfect  justice. 

The  providence  of  God  in  the  physical  world  of 
Nature — clothes  the  lily,  feeds  the  beast  of  the  field, 
and  shelters  the  sparrow. 

The  providence  of  God  in  Nature  is  a  providence 
of  Foresight. 

The  providence  of  God  in  the  moral  world  of 
Man — brings  the  soul  of  goodness  out  of  things  evil 
and  bends  the  consequences  of  evil  to  good. 


1  So  far  as  the  universal  state,  of  humanity  as  it  is,  is  con¬ 
cerned  ;  respecting  what  it  first  was  Anthropology  is  necessarily 
silent — knowing  nothing  about  primitive  man,  for  any  savage 
we  are  acquainted  with  is  approximately  as  recent  and  manu¬ 
factured  a  product  as  civilized  man  to-day.  A  little  inference 
from  the  implements  left  behind,  an  imaginative  picture  of  the 
conditions  of  life,  a  little  comparison  with  the  ways  of  the  rudest 
savages — is  a  poor  way  of  attaining  anthropological  truth. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  185 


The  providence  of  God  in  the  life  of  man  is 
characteristically  a  providence  of  Oversight ;  and 
it  is  man's  spiritual  prerogative,  to  recognize  what 
God  is,  through  what  God  does,— -and  his  highest 
privilege,  to  respond  thereto. 


PERSONALITY 

Personality  is  the  sphere  of  Religion  ;  because 
the  realm  of  the  Supernatural.  Man  does  not  attain 
distinct  importance  as  “  a  man,”  until  the  super¬ 
natural  is  revealed  alike  in  God  and  him— and  the 
idea  of  “  personality  ”  emerges  with  distinctness. 

The  Creeds  are  solely  concerned  with  Persons 
and  the  relations  between  Persons — a  “  Person  ” 
being  “  a  self-conscious  moral  agent.” 

”  Personality  ”  appears  to  be  the  co-ordinating 
constant  which  determines  the  integrity  of  individual 
existence — as  “  life  ”  constitutes  the  governing 
nexus  of  physical  qualities  in  the  organism. 

RELIGION 

Personality,  the  one  great  fact  underlying  the 
Cosmos. 

Personal  relationships,  the  only  relationships  of 
prime  importance.1 

Religion  consists  in  the  recognition  of  this  fact 
in  regard  to  God  and  the  Soul,  in  knowledge  and  in 
practice. 

Our  relation  to  God  is  indeed  intensely  personal : 

1  Hence,  it  may  even  be  said,  that  animals  have  a  moral 
claim  upon  us  just  in  the  degree  to  which  they  possess  “  kinship  ” 
with  man— capacity  of  subserving  human  personality  and  so  far 
entering  into  fellowship  with  man. 


1 86  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


recipients  of  personal  mercy,  recipients  of  personal 
grace;  there  is  needed  from  us,  each  one,  personal 
devotion,  personal  service,  personal  worship — the 
consecration  and  benediction  of  a  life. 


THE  SOUL 

The  Soul  is  the  life  of  man  in  its  unity — i.e.  the 
synthetic  product  of  his  dual  constitution. 

To  illustrate  by  Analogy — Hydrogen  and  Oxygen 
produce  Water,  and  Water  can  be  resolved  into 
Hydrogen  and  Oxygen  ;  but  it  evidently  1  exists, 
not  as  Hydrogen  and  Oxygen  in  combination,  but 
as  Water. 

This  conception  of  the  Soul  of  man,  not  only 
seems  to  reconcile  the  tripartite  division  of  man’s 
nature,  by  St.  Paul,  into  body,  soul,  and  spirit  ; 
with  the  more  usual  distinction  into  soul  and  body — 
it  also  agrees  well  with  peculiar  uses  of  \pvx>i  by  our 
Lord  Himself.  Anything  which  tends  to  prevent 
the  perfect  expression  of  man’s  personality,  hence 
becomes  a  “  losing  of  the  soul  ” — like  those  who 
having  framed  their  practical  life  upon  this  world, 
lose  their  souls  when  the  world  for  which  alone  their 
personality  has  become  fitted,  passes  away. 

The  immortality  of  the  soul  as  a  part  of  man,  no 
Christian  tenet — but  rather  the  immortality  of  the 
man  himself. 

The  nature  of  the  soul  possesses  a  mixed  character, 
for  the  reason  already  stated :  on  the  one  hand, 
passions  and  appetites  and  instincts  akin  to  the 

1  The  scientific  statement  of  what  Water  is,  based  upon  a 
single  quantitative  relation,  in  opposition  to  all  qualitative 
evidence, — affords  a  striking  and  instructive  example  of  the 
artificial  character  of  scientific  procedure. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PHILOSOPHY  187 

brute,  even  intelligence;  on  the  other,  spiritual 
powers  of  love  and  hope  and  faith  and  worship  and 
holiness,  allied  to  spirit  and  the  Father  of  spirits. 

The  attempts  to  answer  the  problem  of  the  soul's 
origin,  in  theories  of  Creationism  or  Traducianism, 
are  unprofitable :  what  concerns  us  most  to  know, 
is  that  the  characteristic  personality  of  each  is 
personally  allotted  to  each  by  God,  either  directly 
as  a  gift,  or  indirectly  by  consent. 

The  soul  is  the  seat  of  Character,  hence  the  deep 
depravity  of  original  sin,  and  the  surpassing  impor¬ 
tance  of  a  Soul’s  salvation. 


ESSAY  XI 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 

There  is  a  passage  in  Ezekiel  which  treats  of  the 
fugitiveness  of  mere  impressions  on  the  sense,  "  And 
lo  thou  art  unto  them,  as  a  very  lovely  song ;  of 
one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice  and  can  play  well 
on  an  instrument,  for  they  hear  thy  words  but  do 
them  not.” 

As  the  passage  stands  in  our  magnificent  English 
version,  it  has  been  aptly  cited  as  a  striking  Com¬ 
mentary  on  its  subject.  There  is  something  so 
pleasing  in  the  style,  so  satisfying  about  the  move¬ 
ment,  so  attractive  in  the  imagery,  that  we  are 
apt  to  retain  these  features  and  rest  content  without 
having  grasped  their  message.  The  passage  as  we 
read  it,  not  only  gives  a  warning,  but  itself  exempli¬ 
fies  the  warning’s  need.  It  is  so  easy  to  allow  its 
manner  to  obscure  its  matter ;  to  enjoy  its  form 
and  ignore  its  significance — that  is  the  danger  of 
all  Art. 

The  term  is  to  be  taken  in  its  widest  sense,  as 
including  all  that  skilled  workmanship  can  realize 
in  permanent  forms  and  under  material  conditions 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 


189 


and  limitations  of  those  inward  harmonious  concep¬ 
tions  which  are  the  inspiration  of  its  activity.  In 
other  words,  under  Art  are  to  be  classed,  not  only 
the  Fine  Arts  and  Architecture,  which  are  always 
recognized  as  within  its  domain — but  also  Literature 
in  its  strict  sense,  whether  prose  or  poetry. 

All  these  present  ideas  for  acceptance,  under 
outward  shape  of  word  or  colour  or  mass  or  form — 
and  all  these  have  this  common  peril — the  danger 
of  dwelling  on  the  seen  and  losing  the  unseen,  to  the 
degradation  of  Art  and  the  degeneration  of  the  Soul. 

Art  has  many  dangers  to  itself  and  man  ;  yet 
so  have  all  our  highest  pursuits  :  the  way  of  highest 
Life,  highest  Thought,  highest  Action,  Religion 
itself,  is  “a  narrow  way,”  a  knife-edge  between 
precipices  of  hazard,  error  and  shame,  and  “  few 
there  be  that  find  it.” 

Yet  again,  even  in  this,  as  in  every  department 
of  existence,  the  Christian  possesses  a  supernatural 
guidance,  a  heavenly  guardianship,  and  a  blessed 
inheritance.  Nothing  human  is  foreign  to  the 
Christian,  nothing  human  is  alien  to  Christianity  ; 
no  realm  of  life  is  unconsecrated  by  Christ,  nothing 
remains  “  common  or  unclean  ”  in  Him. 

What  attitude,  then,  must  the  Church  and  the 
Christian  assume  towards  Art  ? 

It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  answer  the  question 
with  any  completeness  in  a  short  Essay;  a  few 
suggestions,  however,  perhaps  may  help  to  direct 
the  mind  towards  its  solution. 


190  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


First  then,  what  of  the  Church  in  relation  to 
Art  ? 

If,  as  has  been  already  said,  we  believe  that  the 
divine  guidance  promised  to  Her,  will  slowly  mani¬ 
fest  its  influence  as  time  goes  on  ;  never  permitting 
infallible  judgment  but  ever  witnessing  with  in¬ 
creased  assurance  to  the  Truth — History  will  be 
the  best  evidence. 

From  the  earliest  days  when  the  Faith  became 
able,  in  security  and  wealth,  to  manifest  Her  hidden 
life  to  the  world,  she  claimed  the  beauty  of  Art  as 
well  as  the  beauty  of  Holiness  for  her  own. 

Even  in  the  Catacombs,  with  poor  ability  and 
rude  endeavour,  she  adopted  the  dying  legacy  of 
Pagan  skill. 

Purified  by  a  new  power  and  a  new  meaning, 
she  accepted  the  efforts  of  heathen  craftsmen,  to 
depict  those  forms  of  happiness  and  joy  and  peace, 
which  were  congenial  to  her  spirit,  and  turned  them 
to  her  higher  purposes  ;  the  while  she  strove  in 
pictured  symbolism  and  emblem  to  present  the 
peculiar  mysteries  of  the  Faith. 

The  Church  has  from  those  early  days,  ever 
adorned  Art,  by  admitting  its  service.  The  Church 
has  always  guarded,  too,  against  the  abuse  of  Art ; 
by  her  preference  for  symbol  and  emblem  therein  : 
the  Cross  rather  than  the  Crucifix,  this  represents 
most  truly  her  most  consistent  attitude. 

Indeed  the  very  instance  cited  affords  so  striking 
an  example  of  the  Church’s  attitude  and  so  markedly 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 


191 

its  effect  on  Art,  that  it  is  necessary  summarily  to 
review  both  the  historical  development  and  the 
spiritual  influence  which  underlay  it. 

It  is  well  known  that  whatever  its  secret  glorying, 
the  Early  Church  at  first  shrank  from  exhibiting 
the  source  of  that  secret  glorying,  in  the  Cross— -thus, 
the  Mosaics  of  San  Apollinare  nuovo  at  Ravenna 
leave  a  blank  between  the  Agony  of  Gethsemane 
and  the  Resurrection  from  an  empty  tomb  ;  for 
the  Cross  was  “  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block  and 
to  the  Greeks  foolishness.” 

Yet  this  shrinking,  natural  though  it  was  under 
the  circumstances,  soon  vanished,  and  quickly  the 
Cross  was  seen  exalted,  the  glory  of  the  Church  as 
of  St.  Paul. 

Thus,  in  San  Apollinare  in  classe  at  Ravenna, 
the  Cross  is  seen  surrounded  by  a  glory,  above  the 
fields  of  Paradise,  in  the  starry  heavens  which  it 
dims  with  its  brightness.  Already  the  Church  was 
learning  the  lesson  of  Constantine's  vision,  “  in  hoc 
signo  vinces.” 

Henceforth  the  Cross  adorns  the  ensign  of  the 
Warrior,  the  vestment  of  the  Priest,  the  Crown  of 
Kings. 

Yet  while  the  Cross,  at  first  timidly  concealed  in 
the  "  Chi-ro  ”  (jp  or  J?)  and  decorative  forms, 
soon  became  the  recognized  symbol  of  all  that  makes 
Christianity  what  it  is,  it  was  not  so  with  the 
figure  of  our  dying  Redeemer,  represented  hung 
upon  the  Cross. 


192  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  Crucifix,  as  distinguished  from  the  symbolic 
Cross,  only  emerged,  when  men  began  to  dwell 
upon  the  sufferings,  the  sorrows,  the  pain  and 
anguish  of  that  travail  for  a  world's  redemption  ; 
only  became  prominent  when  sin  darkened  the 
distress  of  evil  days.  The  first  example  known 
dates  from  the  fifth  century,  its  occurrence  only 
becomes  general  in  the  seventh. 

Yet  even  in  the  first  of  those  evil  days,  when  the 
Vision  of  the  Judge  to  come  began  to  cover  with 
gloom  the  Visage  of  Him  Who  had  come  as  a 
Saviour,  even  then,  for  awhile  the  Cross  was  a 
Throne,  and  He  Who  was  imaged  thereon  was 
clothed  in  vesture  of  a  King  and  crowned,  or  wore 
the  sacred  robes  of  a  High  Priest,  as  willingly  His 
arms  were  stretched  to  embrace  and  welcome  all 
that  come  to  Him. 

Only  as  the  faith  of  men  failed  them  and  gloom 
deepened  around  them,  did  the  figure  of  mortal 
agony  and  bodily  anguish  prevail,  and  the  nails, 
the  wound-prints,  the  worn  and  scarred  form,  the 
riven  bleeding  side,  come  to  be  made  prominent, — 
and  the  suffering  Son  of  Man  reft  of  the  Glory  of 
the  Son  of  God,  be  set  forth  to  the  eyes  of  men 
unhidden  by  that  shroud  of  darkness  and  of  tender¬ 
ness  which  veiled  the  travail  of  His  soul. 

The  reason  why  the  Crucifix  rather  than  the 
Cross  did  not  commend  itself  to  the  Church’s  Art 
in  the  purer  days  is  very  evident. 

It  was  not  that  the  Crucifix  was  in  itself  wrong, 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 


193 


or  its  use  degrading  ;  nor  from  any  idea  that  any 
representation  of  our  Saviour  dying  for  us  could 
be  in  itself  idolatrous  or  superstitious  ;  “  He  was 
made  man,”  and  since  His  incarnation  in  our  flesh, 
the  image  of  God  is  most  truly  beheld  in  the  likeness 
of  man  ;  besides  the  death  upon  the  Cross  and  its 
History,  is  the  central  fact  of  the  gospel  of  good 
news  to  those  who  are  all  sinners,  and  therefore  to 
represent  Christ  upon  the  Cross  could  not  be  improper 
in  itself,  much  less  sinful.  It  might  indeed  seem  at 
first  sight  as  if  it  would  have  been  the  greatest 
possible  incentive  to  love  and  to  devotion — and  yet, 
spite  of  all  this,  it  was  not  in  the  Crucifix  but  in 
the  Cross  that  the  Church  first  gloried  as  did  St, 
Paul,  as  does  the  Church  to-day— for  to  adore  the 
Crucifix  is  no  advance  upon  glorying  in  the  Cross. 

For  this  same  cause,  it  comes  about  that  our 
own  beloved  Church  has  always  used  all  her  art  to 
set  forth  the  Cross  evident  in  the  eyes  of  all  men  ; 
in  the  form  of  her  Churches,  in  the  windows  of  their 
walls,  on  the  pinnacles  of  her  roof — most  prominent 
at  the  central  meeting-place  of  all  her  worship,  above 
or  upon  the  Holy  Table,  on  the  linen  of  its  service 
and  the  coverings  of  its  adornments,  on  the  robes 
of  her  ministry  and  the  very  books  of  our  devotion, 
upon  the  sleeping-places  of  the  departed,  as  upon 
the  living  brows  of  all  her  children — while  all  the 
time,  since  she  returned  to  the  better  fashion  of 
earlier  days,  she  has  felt  somehow  as  if  the  Crucifix 
were  alien  to  her  devotion,  somehow  restrained  from 

o 


194  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

its  use  by  an  invisible  hand,  somehow  told  by  a 
delicate  yet  imperious  instinct  to  refrain. 

The  reason  is  soon  told.  In  the  Cross  there  is 
to  be  seen,  not  only  the  symbol  of  the  death  of 
Christ,  but  something  more.  The  token  of  the 
Cross  is  richer  in  meaning  than  the  Crucifix  ;  the 
one  speaks  of  suffering  only,  the  other  of  victory 
through  suffering. 

The  one  shows  at  most  only  some  faint  outward 
imagination  of  the  bodily  pains  of  Him  Who  took 
upon  Him  “  the  body  of  our  humiliation  ”  ;  the 
other  speaks  eloquently  of  One  Who  has  seen  of 
the  travail  of  His  soul  and  is  satisfied. 

The  Cross  is  empty,  the  memorial  indeed  of  a 
Redemption  accomplished — while  it  proclaims  “  He 
is  not  here,  He  is  risen,’ ’  and  as  we  gaze,  the  thought 
of  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory,  and  all  our 
needs  supplied  in  a  living  Lord  Who  died  for  us  and 
is  alive  for  evermore. 

Thus  the  Church  ever  uses  Art  to  edification. 

Without  withholding  to  depict  the  historical  fact 
of  the  Passion  and  Death  of  her  Lord,  she  yet  prefers 
for  isolated  use,  the  Cross  rather  than  the  Crucifix, 
and  uses  it  more  freely — for  the  symbol  of  the  Cross 
is  more  reverent  in  its  reserve  than  any  attempt 
at  mere  pictured  representation  of  the  facts,  and  is 
more  akin  to  the  spiritual  aspects  of  the  Lord’s 
death,  than  any  realistic  figure  of  His  dying. 

It  was  the  same  instinctive  spirit,  which  led  the 
Church’s  chary  sanction  of  Sculpture.  Something 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART  195 

material  seemed  to  cling  to  its  solidity  of  impersona¬ 
tion — it  seemed  “  of  the  earth,  earthy/' 

Only  after  many  centuries,  did  Sculpture  in  the 
round  find  a  decorative  place  in  Romanesque  Porch 
and  the  niches  of  Gothic  Minsters  ;  while,  even  still 
to-day  it  is  interdicted  from  the  austere  fanes  of 
Greek  worship. 

It  is  memorable  that  Christian  Sculpture  in  the 
form  of  independent  statuary,  had  its  true  birth 
in  the  early  Renaissance  ;  that  revival  which,  in  the 
end,  did  so  much  to  re-paganize  the  World  and  Art. 

The  Church  refrained  somewhat  from  the  use  of 
Sculpture,  lest  it  should  introduce  conflict  into  her 
spiritual  Kingdom,  by  satisfying  men  with  its 
external,  outward,  material  form. 

Not  so  with  Painting  and  its  allied  Arts,— this 
the  grace  of  her  youth  has  remained  ever  dear  to 
her.  Enduring  Mosaic  gleamed  from  the  dim  wall 
of  her  sanctuaries,  and  emblazoned  them  with 
glorious  tints  of  sun  and  sky  and  sea,  telling  forth 
the  tale  of  man's  Salvation,  God's  Redemption,  and 
Angelic  Praise.  So  also,  more  fading,  transient 
Frescoes,  limned  with  delicate  hues  and  calm  sweet¬ 
ness,  told  everywhere  the  story  of  the  gentleness, 
the  tenderness  and  the  power  of  Him  Who  had 
come  “  full  of  grace  and  truth  "  to  all  His  Saints  ; 
of  the  revelation  of  that  divine  yet  human  judge 
with  pierced  hands,  that  comes  again  to  judge  the 
earth  ;  of  that  bright  heaven  of  bliss  and  dim  woe 
of  pain  that  wait  for  men. 


196  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


The  Church  has  ever  valued  Painting,  not 
primarily  because  of  its  achievements,  but  as  aiding 
men  to  realize  the  things  unseen  ;  and  Painting  has 
remained  a  treasure  in  the  Church  and  the  honoured 
treasure  of  the  Church,  just  in  so  far  as  Man  and 
the  Church  have  used  its  earthly  beauty  to  unfold 
the  vision  of  the  things  of  heaven  and  of  God. 

Thus  also,  in  like  manner,  "  Architecture  ” 
became  the  first  great  Christian  Art ;  unequalled, 
by  anything  that  had  preceded  it,  in  significance. 

The  beauty  of  Gothic,  its  final  Crown,  retains 
its  spell  for  us,  because  its  mystery  is  the  mystery 
of  life ;  its  aspiration,  the  aspiration  of  the  soul ; 
its  multiplicity,  the  multiplicity  of  God’s  Church 
“  not  built  with  hands  ”  ;  its  spirit,  the  spirit  of 
adoration. 

But  if  Architecture  is  the  handmaid  of  the 
Church,  surely  Music  is  her  child.  From  the  days 
when  solemn  antiphonies  of  the  Gregorian  mode 
first  moved  the  worshipper  to  awe  and  tears,  till 
now,  when  jubilance  has  displaced  contrition  in  her 
mood,  Music  has  been  cherished  by  the  Church, 
because  Music  is  the  most  immaterial,  the  most 
spiritual  of  all  the  Arts,  the  most  akin  to  the  spirit 
of  Faith. 

In  a  word,  no  form  of  Art  has  remained  foreign 
to  Christianity,  but  she  has  cherished  those  most, 
which  were  most  willing  to  become  instruments  and 
not  ends  ;  servants  of  use  and  instruction  ;  types 
of  a  superior  beauty  ;  humble  confessors  of  their 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 


197 


own  fleeting  dependent  glories— interpreters  of  the 
unseen  and  its  monitors  ;  incitements  and  aids  to 
Devotion. 

Art  can  only  serve  its  noblest  ends,  when  conse¬ 
crated  by  Religion  ;  can  only  fulfil  itself  through 
Sacrifice,  as  a  means  not  an  end  ;  or  otherwise  become 
material,  pagan,  effete. 

The  Christian,  as  “  a  Christian,”  the  Church,  as 
“  a  Church  ” — not  merely  as  a  “  man  ”  and  a 
“  Society  ” — aflke  know  nothing  of  “  Art  for  Art’s 
sake.”  Each  knows  “  Art  ”  only  as  a  source  of 
spiritual  power,  strengthening  man’s  will,  confirming 
the  intuitive  insight  of  his  soul ;  an  instrument  to 
be  used  by  Faith,  to  spiritual  ends. 

It  is  easy  to  pervert  Art  from  this  its  truest 
dignity  and  its  worthiest  service. 

Art  must  not  necessarily  be  didactic,  it  must  be 
illuminative. 

The  highest  revelation  to  which  it  can  lead  us, 
although  it  cannot  exhibit  it,  is  the  eternal  Beauty. 

The  Beauty  which  Art  images  and  manifests,  as 
a  beauty  of  Nature  and  Love  and  Light  and  Life, 
we  can  realize  through  Faith,  as  the  mystic  reflection 
of  the  Loveliness  of  God. 

From  the  mirror,  the  symbolic  vision — the 
spectacle  of  the  seen,  the  earthy — we  must  advance 
to  the  vision  of  the  unseen  and  the  Heavenly  :  and 
Art’s  function  to  each  Christian  is  to  guide  towards 
that  Goal,  which  Faith  alone  can  reach. 

To  many  minds,  the  Beauty  and  Appeal  of  Nature 


198  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

without  and  the  responsive  human  skill  which  can 
delight  in  it  and  reproduce  it  in  creative  imagina¬ 
tion — like  Love  in  man’s  social  relations,  and  the 
Moral  Sense  within — is  the  most  eloquent  witness 
of  the  Divine  Presence,  and  its  most  intimate 
Revelation  to  the  soul  that  wonders,  ponders,  and 
adores. 

To  such,  Devotion  to  Love,  Beauty,  Truth,  as 
the  Point  of  Personal  Honour,  appeals  as  the  most 
practical  Philosophy  ;  and  Vital  Religion,  as  con¬ 
summate  in  the  Knowledge  of  God  Who  is  the 
Reality  of  their  Ideals. 

Since  Art’s  constant  witness  and  protest  is,  that 
sensibility,  imagination,  emotion,  are  as  essential 
factors  in  human  life  as  reason,  conscience  and  will ; 
it  is  necessary ,  if  the  balance  of  our  one  yet  manifold 
soul-life  is  to  be  preserved,  and  a  whole  and  whole¬ 
some  personality  offered  to  Faith,  as  the  perfected 
Instrument  of  devotion  and  worship. 

It  is  outside  the  limits  of  this  Essay  to  deal  with 
those  functions  which  Art  discharges  towards  the 
Christian  as  towards  the  Natural  Man,  in  virtue  of 
a  common  humanity — precious  as  those  uses  may 
be,  for  the  cultivation  of  the  seeing  eye  and  under¬ 
standing  ear,  for  the  refinements  of  the  fancy  and 
the  senses,  as  well  as  in  the  recreation  and  relaxations 
of  life. 

“  Art  for  Art’s  sake  ”  can  only  be  legitimately 
recognized  in  respect  to  the  increment  of  enjoyment 
afforded  by  discrimination  of  the  special  beauties 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ART 


199 


proper  to  its  several  branches,  and  to  the  intense 
pleasure  received  in  the  practice  and  appreciation 
of  Art,  from  the  sense  of  mastery  and  achievement 
in  such  a  selective  treatment  of  material  as  shall 
employ  and  bring  out  distinctive  qualities  and 
beauties  with  the  greatest  vividness,  directness, 
freshness  and  ease. 

This  aesthetic  delight  in  skilful  handling  and 
technical  effectiveness  is  obviously  as  innocent  as 
that  more  universal  pleasure  which  is  derived 
throughout  the  range  of  Decorative  Art,  from  the 
manifoldly  varied  applications  of  the  elementary 
bases  of  design,  in  mere  pattern  and  acknowledged 
ornament. 


MUSIC  AND  POETRY  IN  THE  NINETEENTH 

CENTURY 

It  seems  a  most  significant  fact  and  the  manifest 
operation  of  Divine  Love,  that  the  greatest  simul¬ 
taneous  outburst  of  Poetical  Genius  and  of  Musical 
Genius  which  the  World  has  ever  seen,  preceded 
that  great  domination  of  Science  which  has  charac¬ 
terized,  in  a  unique  degree,  recent  years. 

It  "  prevented  ”  the  peculiar  dangers  that 
attend  the  special  pursuit  of  Science,  and  provided 
a  corrective  against  excesses  it  might  introduce. 

No  better  antidote  to  the  exclusive  effects  of 
scientific  training  can  be  conceived  than  that  of 
Art  in  its  widest  sense — and  none  more  necessary. 


ESSAY  XII 

WORSHIP:  AND  WORSHIP  IN  THE  CHURCH 

OF  ENGLAND 

Religion  as  a  cultus — in  its  most  general  terms — 
is  the  expression  of  our  life  as  lived  in  relation  to 
God,  our  life  as  lived  to  His  Glory  and  His 
Praise. 

Its  highest  exhibition  is  necessarily  found  on 
occasion  of  the  approach  of  man  to  God  and  the 
approach  of  God  to  man. 

Our  life  as  lived  to  the  Glory  of  God,  finds  its 
fullest  expression  in  Divine  Service  ;  our  life  as  lived 
to  the  Praise  of  God,  finds  its  perfect  expression  in 
Divine  Worship. 

Divine  Service  is  primarily  associated  with  the 
approach  of  man  to  God  ;  Divine  Worship  is  primarily 
associated  with  the  approach  of  God  to  man. 

That  such  mutual  approach  is  possible  every¬ 
where,  does  not  lessen  the  sacredness  of  “  the  place 
of  worship.” 

The  place  which  God  hath  chosen  “  to  place  His 
Name  there,”  is  “  holy  ground.”  For  the  Church 
is  a  place  where  God  is,  in  a  special  sense — not  as  if 


WORSHIP 


201 


only  there,  but  as  really  there  by  a  special  Conde¬ 
scension  and  with  a  peculiar  grace  and  favour.  He 
is  there  to  manifest  Himself.  There,  He  makes 
known — Himself. 

Moreover  the  Church  is  a  place  where  Christ 
bestows  His  presence — human,  as  well  as  Divine — - 
for  the  granting  of  our  prayers  and  the  receiving  of 
our  homage,  for  the  ratification  of  our  actions  and 
the  bestowal  of  His  grace. 

The  Elements  of  Divine  Service  are  prayer  and 
thanksgiving ;  acts  of  dependence,  acts  which  in 
the  Offices  of  the  Church,  cluster  round  material 
afforded  by  inspiration,  i.e.  round  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
and  round  the  Psalms  and  Canticles. 

The  Elements  of  Divine  Worship  are  acts  of 
Blessing  and  of  Sacrifice  ;  acts  of  fellowship  betwixt 
God  and  man,  a  fellowship  exhibited  in  the  giving 
and  receiving  of  Gifts. 

The  acts  of  Blessing  are  acts  of  God  in  manifesta¬ 
tion  of  His  grace  ;  and  consist  essentially  in  acts  of 
Absolution,  Consecration,  and  Benediction. 

The  acts  of  Sacrifice  on  man's  part,  consist  of  the 
“  Sacrifice  of  Praise,"  in  Eucharistic  Memory  of  the 
Divine  Bounty,  in  Creation  and  Redemption,  by 
Providence  and  Grace — together  with  the  offering 
of  substance,  sustenance,  and  self,  i.e.  the  sacrifice 
of  man’s  lips,  labour,  and  life,  in  Christ. 

The  Divine  acts  of  Blessing  and  the  human  acts 
of  Sacrifice,  all  exhibit  their  full  significance,  and  have 
their  perfect  expression,  in  the  Eucharistic  Rite 


202  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


instituted  by  Christ  Himself,  centering  and  cul¬ 
minating  in  it  to  form  the  characteristic  act  of 
Christian  Worship  “  until  He  come/’ 

However  combined  and  intermingled  Divine 
Service  and  Divine  Worship  are,  yet  the  Act  of  Divine 
Worship  is  the  more  exalted,  for  it  alone  is  an  act 
of  direct  Divine  Institution,  while  it  is  in  connection 
with  it  that  Divine  Service — even  the  Divine  Form 
of  Prayer — attains  its  highest  use. 

“  Divine  Service  ”  is  still  the  same  in  essence, 
as  with  the  Jews  of  old  in  their  synagogues,  though 
now  rendered  through  the  Name  of  Christ. 

“  Divine  Worship  ”  is  that  of  which  all  their  ' 
Temple  Worship  was  but  the  shadow,  for  the  Temple 
Sacrifices  were  but  the  presages  of  that  Sacrifice  of 
Christ  which  is  the  meritorious  foundation  of  ours. 

Subject  to  these  First  Principles,  Liturgical  Forms 
have,  in  general,  originated  by  a  natural  tendency. 

This  is  inevitable,  for  the  elements  of  Devotion 
are  constant — confession  of  sin,  prayers  for  self, 
intercession  for  others,  thanksgiving,  praise,  adora¬ 
tion,  these  are  the  natural  channels  through  which 
the  spirit  of  devotion  is  habitually  outpoured  ;  and 
by  “  habit  ”  they  tend  to  run  ever  more  deeply  in 
like  Forms. 

The  elements  of  religious  experience  are  the  same 
to  all,  and  in  their  deepest  expression,  all  devout 
souls  draw  closer  in  “  the  Communion  of  Saints  ”  ; 
consequently,  while  habit  induces  a  likeness  of 
utterance  in  devotional  use,  that  result  is  justified 


WORSHIP 


203 


and  turned  to  good  account,  on  a  profound  basis  and 
for  a  universal  purpose,  and  set  forms  of  worship 
become  the  fitting  vehicle  of  Public  Use. 

Such  a  development  is  parallel  to  that  lesser 
development  through  which  the  rise  of  regular 
movement,  accent,  and  pitch  of  voice  in  religious 
exercises — in  unconscious  and  unstudied  harmony 
with  their  emotional  contents,  issues  in  a  gradual 
fixity  and  permanence,  as  “  Monotone  ''  and  “  In¬ 
flection/' 

But,  if  Liturgical  Forms  have  originated,  in 
general,  by  a  natural  tendency,  that  tendency  has 
none  the  less  worked,  in  particular,  along  certain  lines. 

As  with  the  crystallization  of  supersaturated 
salts,  so  here,  the  crystallizing  forces  must  have  a 
“  polar  centre  ”  from  which  to  work. 

This  they  find  either  in  inheritance  or  prescription. 

They  are  based  either  on  what  we  have  always 
been  accustomed  to,  or  on  what  we  are  commanded 
or  instructed  to  use  by  recognized  authority. 

Both  these  influences  worked  in  Christianity. 

On  the  one  hand,  certain  forms  were  prescribed 
by  Christ  Himself,  i.e.  the  Baptismal  Formula  and 
the  Eucharistic  Canon. 

Around  these  centres  the  chief  and  most  definite 
offices  or  forms  will  collect,  and  indeed  they  are  the 
core  and  inspiration  of  the  Creeds  and  Liturgy,  which 
are  therefore  traceable  to  the  highest  antiquity  and 
primitive  employment. 

In  a  lesser  degree,  the  Lord's  Prayer  seems  to 


204  first  principles  of  the  church 


have  formed  a  “  polar  centre  ”  for  Prayers  ;  and 
still  more  weakly  marked,  the  Divine  Scriptures 
became  a  nucleus  round  which  Benedictions  clustered, 
of  which  an  example  still  remains  in  the  “  Glory  be 
to  Thee,  O  Lord,”  used  in  our  Church  in  connection 
with  the  reading  of  the  Gospel. 

Certain  forms  of  a  less  imperative,  invariable  and 
impressive  character,  were  the  inheritance  of  the 
Early  Christians  from  their  earliest  youth,  viz.  those 
public  devotions  of  the  Temple  and  Synagogue,  such 
as  the  Psalms,  which  ran  parallel  with  the  instinctive 
products  of  their  own  personal  and  private  soul-life 
— whence  arises  a  more  obscure  connection  of  the 
Daily  Offices  with  the  public  worship  of  the  Old 
Covenant,  a  more  free  but  not  less  real  connection 
than  the  prior  one. 

Outside  the  Form  and  Matter  of  the  Two  Sacra¬ 
ments  instituted  by  Christ  Himself,  the  whole  ques¬ 
tion  of  Rites,  Ceremonies,  and  Ornament  is  one  of 
expediency  and  not  of  principle — if  once  the 
Position  of  the  Church  of  England  be  granted,  viz. 
that  fixed  Rite  and  stated  Office,  formal  Order  and 
the  use  of  Ornament  and  Symbol,  are  lawful  and 
right  in  Christian  Worship,  provided  they  are  not 
repugnant  to  God’s  plain  Word,  do  not  involve  false 
or  obscure  true  doctrine,  and  are  instituted — as  things 
themselves  “  indifferent  ”  but  recognized  as  receiving 
a  lawful  sanction,  by  the  internal  Authority  of  the 
Church,  for  the  practical  applications  of  spiritual 
edification. 


WORSHIP 


205 


On  examination,  both  Rites  and  Ceremonies  are 
seen  to  be,  in  bulk,  a  natural  growth  of  which  the 
relative  importance  and  value  in  detail  can  be  ascer¬ 
tained,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  History  of  their 
Evolution,  and  on  the  other  by  consideration  of  the 
Doctrinal  or  Practical  Influences  from  which  they 
sprang,  or  which  favoured  their  rise  and  development, 
or  which  gave  them  such  significance  as  they  may 
possess  in  the  Present  or  have  possessed  in  the  Past. 

Such  investigations  and  the  matters  with  which 
they  deal,  fall  well  within  the  practised  judgment 
and  the  determining  power  of  a  National  Church 
rich  in  Historic  experience  and  habituated  to  deal 
with  and  adapt  her  manifold  stores  of  Precedent 
and  Material  throughout  the  extended  range  of 
enlarged  experience. 

It  is,  in  the  highest  degree,  unwise  to  fix  arbitrarily 
upon  the  setting  or  form  of  Worship  in  any  age,  as 
exclusively,  or  pre-eminently  “  Catholic.” 

The  “  catholicity  ”  of  worship  is  evidenced  by 
its  vital  spontaneity  and  sensitive  fitness  of  corre¬ 
spondence  to  the  devotional  temper  and  spiritual 
character  of  any  People,  in  each  temporal  Period, 
with  their  attaching  conception  of  the  Faith, — a 
Catholicity  preserved  from  eccentricity  or  loss  by 
the  tradition  of  Historic  Inheritance. 

It  is  equally  impossible  to  argue  that  the  Re¬ 
formers  could — in  a  period  of  unrest  and  transition — 
absolutely  stereotype  the  character  of  the  Church’s 
System  for  other  and  more  peaceful  times. 


206  first  principles  of  the  church 


They  certainly  could  not  anticipate  the  needs  or 
developments  of  days  to  come,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  detailed  provision  for  them. 

Happily  we  are  not  bound  by  the  opinions,  the 
intentions,  or  the  wishes  of  the  Reformers,  though 
we  are  bound  to  understand,  to  weigh  and  to  respect 
them,  for  we  accept  much  of  the  fruit  of  their 
labours. 

We  accept — 

1.  The  Principles  of  the  Reformation  which  are 
enunciated  in  the  Prayer  Book. 

2.  The  Practices  of  the  Church,  as  modified  by 
the  Reformed  Rubrics  and  actual  Ecclesiastical  Law. 

3.  The  Doctrines  of  the  Reformers,  explicitly 
formulated  in  the  Articles,  the  Prayer  Book,  and  the 
Catechism. 

Subject  always  to  such  modifications  as  the 
Church  has  seen  fit  to  make  in  subsequent  Revisions 
and  by  recognized  Usage. 

It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  add,  that  while 
bound  by  the  broad  outlines  of  the  Formularies  of 
the  Church  in  their  natural  sense,  we  are  certainly 
not  bound  by  the  leanings  or  views,  their  silences  or 
ambiguities  permitted  or  implied  in  the  eyes  of 
those  who  framed  them. 

Yet  although  not  bound  to  accept  any  unachieved 
aim  or  copy  any  excused  excess  on  the  part  of  the 
Reformers,  it  is  impossible  without  a  jar  to  leave 
their  essential  position. 

Thus,  for  example,  while  it  is  in  no  way  necessary 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  207 

to  accept  the  Calvinistic  explanation  as  to  the  mode 
of  the  Presence  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  some  such  way  of  regarding  it, 
commended  itself  to  some  of  them,  because  it  recog¬ 
nized  that  the  Presence  of  Christ  then  bestowed  was  a 
Presence  incapable  of  localization  in  Time  and  Space, 
and  that  it  was  this  fundamental  conviction  which 
gave  its  characteristic  sense  of  mystery  and  per¬ 
vading  worship  to  the  whole  Eucharistic  Office  as  we 
have  received  it  from  their  hands,  along  with  the 
practical  corollary  carried  with  it,  that  a  “  Mystery  ” 
needs,  not  concealment  but  openness,  to  display  Itself 
as  Such. 

Again,  where  other  Bodies  have  drawn  Usages 
from  an  identical  or  similar  Historical  source  with 
the  Church  of  England,  it  does  not  in  any  way 
concern  us  what  construction  those  Bodies  or  their 
Members  choose  to  put  upon  them  now  or  what 
construction  they  may  have  put  upon  them  in  the 
past ;  we  are  only  concerned  with  the  construction 
our  own  Reformed  Church  has  always  put  upon  them, 
or  that  which  it  to-day  puts  upon  our  permitted  use 
of  them  (e.g.  the  use  of  ever-burning  Sanctuary 
Lights). 

And  where  similarity  of  use  is  evident,  it  is  a 
confusion  of  thought,  hastily  to  ascribe  to  “  imita¬ 
tion/’  what  a  sense  of  Fitness  may  dictate  in  respect 
to  the  disposal,  use  and  arrangement  of  common 
material, — or  practical  utility  commend,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Lavabo  or  washing  of  hands. 


208  first  principles  of  the  church 


In  a  word,  our  practice  is  not  to  be  restricted, 
necessarily,  by  the  fashions  of  the  Church  in  any 
age,  or  by  the  influences  which  moulded  them. 

Indeed  most  of  the  apparatus  in  greatest  dispute 
at  the  present  time,  is  part  of  the  furnishing  of 
Natural  Religion,  instinctive  in  man  and  permitted 
by  God, — and  by  its  very  Universality  to  be  ascribed 
to  nothing  but  a  certain  intrinsic  fitness  and  appeal. 

This  especially  covers  the  case  of  Festal  occasions. 

Yet  even  then,  it  is  instinctively  felt  most 
befitting  to  restrict  indulgence  in  the  splendid 
Pageantry  of  an  ornate  ceremonial,  to  portions  of 
observance  which  he  outside  the  actual  conduct  of 
the  service  proper,  i.e.  to  Processions,  and  in  this 
respect,  a  prevalent  and  growing  tendency  inclines 
to  give  natural  instinct  the  practical  issue  which  it 
indicates. 

The  general  elements  of  Ceremonial — Lights, 
Vestments,  Incense,  Symbolic  Ornament  and  Festal 
Decoration,  so  far  as  they  can  be  really  termed 
“  Catholic  ”  at  all,  are  “  catholic  ”  because  human, 
not  because  of  Divine  institution,  and  the  history  of 
their  adoption  in  the  Christian  Church  disclaims  for 
them  any  higher  sanctity  than  that  of  association. 

The  elaboration  of  Ceremonial  is  in  itself  as  natural 
to  man,  as  Iris  instinct  for  all  decorative  ornament, 
and  its  presence  as  inevitable,  while  it  is  equally 
indifferent  to  moral  significance  and  spiritual 
meaning,  though  docile  to  both,  so  long  as  duly 
obedient  to  similar  laws.  Nor  can  a  low  standard 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  209 

of  utility  operate  in  regard  to  either,  without  limiting 
human  endowment  and  impoverishing  human  per¬ 
sonality  ;  it  is  not  rejection  but  regulation  that  is 
necessary — and  “  necessary  ”  even  in  the  sense  of 
possible. 

Certain  considerations  of  a  general  character  help 
to  clear  what  is  advisable  or  desirable  in  the  way  of 
habitual  Rite,  Ceremony,  or  Ornament. 

They  are  these — 

1.  Worship  is  the  whole  attitude  and  act  of  whole 

man  worshipping. 

2.  Outward  Worship,  as  the  expression  of  the 

inward  Attitude  of  man  worshipping, 
involves  Ceremonial. 

Outward  Worship,  as  the  expression  of  the 
inward  Act  of  man  worshipping,  involves 
Ritual. 

3.  All  external  Worship  has  for  its  End,  the 

expression,  or  the  realization  of  Internal 
Worship. 

Inasmuch  as  the  externals  of  Religion  are  Com¬ 
mentaries  on  Divine  Institutions  or  Witnesses  of 
Divine  Truth,  they  become,  in  the  most  profound 
sense,  “  dramatic  ”  and  “  symbolic/’  just  in  the 
proportion  to  which  they  fulfil  their  common  end. 

That  is  to  say,  that  Ritual,  Ceremonial,  and  Orna¬ 
ments,  in  their  characteristic  aspect,  as  apart  from 
those  Festal  uses  already  mentioned,  must  not 
receive  independent  stress  for  their  own  sake  as 
separable  adjuncts  however  impressive  ;  they  must 

p 


2io  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


either  unfold  or  explain  the  significance  of  some 
Divine  Institution  or  subserve  its  use,  or  else  they 
must  exhibit  some  crucial  aspect  of  the  Revelation 
of  God  in  Christ,  or  of  man’s  response  to  It. 

In  a  word,  all  Ceremony,  Ritual,  and  Ornament, 
should  be  the  illuminative  observance  of  the  essential 
features  of  the  Divine  Institution  embodied,  or  the 
interpretative  comment  on  the  essential  character  of 
the  Divine  Truth  enshrined, — and  the  quiet,  notable 
and  suitable  provision  for  this,  is  sure  to  furnish  just 
the  simple  means  needed  to  brighten,  dignify,  and 
adorn  the  sanctuary. 

It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  add  two 
restraints — 

1.  Not  every  observance  or  truth  in  worship 

requires  illustration. 

2.  While  the  externals  of  worship  must  befit 

worship,  in  having  both  in  matter  and 
manner,  due  ornament  and  due  order,  it  is 
not  fitting  that  worship  should  be  external¬ 
ized — it  must  not  become  merely  orna¬ 
mental,  formal,  spectacular. 

All  that  belongs  to  Public  Worship  should  be 
marked  by  the  simple  comeliness,  dignity  and  worth 
which  pertains  to  the  ordered  fitness  of  the  house  of 
God,  for  the  worship  of  Him,  Whose  abode  it  is. 

The  very  appearance  of  the  House  of  Prayer, 
thanksgiving  and  Praise,  should  breathe  that  Spirit 
of  chastened  feeling  and  grave  beauty,  which  pre¬ 
eminently  marks  the  Church  of  England  and  her 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  211 


Order  as  a  peculiar  heritage  and  possession,  and 
which  fit  it  to  be  the  truest  voice,  symbol,  and 
exponent  of  our  English  Character,  in  its  reserve,  its 
tenderness,  its  solemnity  and  its  deep  devotion. 

Above  all,  it  must  always  be  felt  that  under  all 
the  beauty  and  dignity  of  outward  things,  there  lies 
that  beauty  of  holiness,  that  dignity  of  sainthood, 
which  is  the  most  appropriate  and  fittest  adornment 
of  the  living  Temple  ;  if  the  Church  is  to  be  pleasing 
to  God, — and  clothed  with  beautiful  apparel,  because 
all  beautiful  within. 

The  Genius  of  the  English  Church  as  expressed 
in  its  public  Offices,  has  been  well  characterized  as 
“  statuesque  ”  ;  its  impressiveness  comes  from  its 
simple  sincerity,  its  conscious  restraint,  its  grouping, 
its  proportions — it  is  truly  Classic  in  its  dignity,  its 
breadth,  its  directness,  its  recollectedness,  its  fitness  ; 
the  fussiness,  the  triviality,  the  obsequiousness,  the 
display,  the  elaboration  of  merely  sensuous  appeal, 
has  no  place  in  it ;  it  is  terse,  sober,  lucid,  profound 
in  expression  and  feeling — and  the  introduction  of 
elements  involving  any  lowering  of  its  tension  means 
a  total  loss  of  its  austere  beauty  and  aweful  yet 
tender  reserve. 

Nor  should  the  evident  omissions,  defects,  and 
shortcomings  in  our  own  Prayer  Book,  blind  us  to  the 
very  evident  faults,  the  involved  garrulity  or  ob¬ 
scurity  of  phrase,  the  baldness  or  tediousness  of 
expression,  the  lack  of  concentration  and  unity,  of 
other  traditional  forms  of  Service. 


212  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Ail  interpolations,  additions,  or  secret  devotions, 
intended  to  assimilate  our  reformed  service  to  either 
modern  Roman  practice  or  merely  Mediaeval  doctrine 
cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned. 

There  must  be  nothing  merely  fanciful,  nothing 
superstitious,  intruded  into  the  fabrics,  the  rites,  the 
devotions  of  our  beloved  Church. 

The  best  model  for  ceremonial  and  ritual  pro¬ 
priety  in  the  Church  to-day,  is  to  be  found  in  those 
natural  moulds  unconsciously  afforded  by  the  re¬ 
current  customs  of  such  periods  in  the  Post-Reforma¬ 
tion  History  of  the  Church  as  are  marked  by  the 
greatest  consciousness,  at  once,  of  her  Catholic 
calling  and  Her  Protestant  position,  i.e.  such  periods 
as  that  of  the  Caroline  Divines. 

There  seems  no  doubt  that  the  “  ornaments 
rubric  ”  was  intended  to  preserve  the  externals  of 
the  Church's  worship,  as  far  as  they  related  to  the 
fittings  of  the  Church  and  the  dress  of  its  Ministers, 
as  they  were  at  the  time  of  Reformation,  save  in 
such  things  as  had  been  abolished  by  authority 
because  of  superstitious  associations. 

Thus,  the  Chancels  were  to  continue,  “as  in 
times  past,"  not  only  in  respect  to  their  fabric,  but 
also  in  respect  to  their  furniture,  with  the  exceptions 
referred  to  above. 

But  the  Offices,  with  their  arrangement  and  the 
way  of  saying  them  and  the  actions  which  constitute 
their  ceremonial,  entirely  superseded  the  old  rites — 
except  in  so  far  as  traditional  custom  has  universally 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  213 

been  recognized,  or  the  matter  is  subsidiary  to  the 
due  observation  of  the  directions  given,  or  a  given 
thing  being  ordered  to  be  done,  it  continues  to  be 
done  as  it  had  been  done,  without  explicit  instructions 
being  laid  down. 

As  to  the  Vestments  worn  “  by  ministers  at  all 
times  of  their  ”  customary  “  ministrations,”  these 
continue  to  be  “  retained  and  had  in  use,”  but  the 
right  to  them  having  been  asserted  and  their  pre¬ 
script  allotment  being  maintained,  they  are  not 
required,  either  by  rubric  or  by  habitual  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  the  covering  Clause. 

The  Canons  of  1604,  in  accordance  with  the 
Injunctions  of  Elizabeth’s  reign,  viewed  in  the  light 
of  the  Practice  of  the  Revisers  of  1662,  and  interpreted 
by  the  History  of  the  course  of  events  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  afford  an  authoritative  sanction  to  the 
sufficient  observance  of  the  provision  made  in  this 
respect. 

In  the  year  1548  and  the  Use  of  1549,  the  old 
vestments  were  ordered ;  since  Elizabeth’s  time, 
their  property  is  recognized,  but  their  use  is  not 
enforced. 

To  unite  in  worship,  there  must  be  an  authority 
to  give  common  direction,  and  an  interpreter  to 
refer  to,  for  practical  guidance  where  a  matter  is 
uncertain. 

Such  an  authority  must  be  “  Law  ”  to  all ;  and 
such  interpretations  must  be  given  the  greatest 
weight  and  deference. 


214  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 

An  authority  of  this  nature  we  possess  in  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  and  a  practical  interpreter  of 
this  character  we  possess  in  each  Diocese  in  those 
Bishops  whose  charge  is  the  government  and  over¬ 
sight  of  the  flock  of  Christ. 

The  Prayer  Book  shows  that  authority  to  decree 
Rites  and  Ceremonies  is  claimed  for  individual 
National  Churches  and  its  exercise  provided  for 
accordingly.  History  proves  that  it  is  through  the 
mutual  interaction  of  such  territorial  adjustment 
that  Usage  grows  uniform,  rather  than  by  enactment 
of  the  Church  Universal. 

In  accordance  with  this  position,  the  Church  of 
England  as  a  whole,  imposes  the  Prayer  Book  on  its 
individual  members,  requiring  a  loyal  conformity  to 
its  rules,  and  yet  more,  so  far  as  may  be,  seeking  to 
secure  loyal  conformity  to  its  spirit. 

Such  is  the  only  possible  way  in  which  to  secure 
Unity  in  common  prayer  and  praise  and  the  general 
practice  of  the  devout  life. 

Opinions  may  differ  as  to  the  comparative  value 
of  the  book,  as  to  the  wisdom  of  its  regulations,  the 
expediency  of  its  directions,  the  desirability  of  reform, 
either  conservative  or  progressive,  but  the  Prayer 
Book  as  it  is,  i.e.  the  Prayer  Book  of  1662,  is  our  law, 
so  long  as  it  remains  as  it  is,  remains  that  is  to  say, 
unchanged  by  the  authoritative  action  of  the  Church  ; 
and  consequently  it  demands  from  each  and  all,  the 
most  faithful  allegiance  and  scrupulous  obedience. 

Such  a  treatment — one  which  it  alike  demands 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  215 


and  deserves— the  Prayer  Book  has  never  fairly 
received  since  it  was  first  put  forth  in  its  reformed 
state. 

It  remains  for  us  to  exercise  this  plain  duty  and 
privilege  in  its  entirety  and  thoroughness. 

The  Prayer  Book,  at  least,  speaks  the  voice  of  no 
Party,  for  all  parties  alike  claim  some  share  and 
shelter  under  her  oracles,  but  as  a  whole,  the  Prayer 
Book  is  the  utterance  of  the  Church  of  England  as 
a  whole,  measured,  weighty,  consistent,  harmonious. 

The  Prayer  Book  knows  no  party  either  inside  or 
outside  the  Church. 

Just  as  it  ignores  all  party  within  her  pale,  so 
the  Prayer  Book  takes  its  own  line  as  the  rule  of 
the  Church  of  England,  without  being  concerned 
with  the  affairs  or  arrangements  of  other  religious 
communions. 

It  has  a  distinct  position  of  its  own— that  of  the 
Catholic  Church  under  the  constraints  of  History  ; 
like  the  Church  of  England  unwillingly  protestant, 
because  unreservedly  Catholic  ;  Catholic  but  not 
Roman,  Protestant  but  not  Puritan. 

Along  with  our  English  Bible,  our  English  Prayer 
Book  forms  the  most  precious  fruit  of  our  Reforma¬ 
tion,  the  subject  of  its  most  anxious  labours,  the 
treasure  of  its  deepest  estimation. 

And  to  be  true  to  that  Reformation,  as  the 
Church  of  England  worked  it  out,  accepted  and 
maintains  it,  the  Prayer  Book  must  be  given  freest 
scope,  fullest  justice  and  fairest  play. 


216  first  principles  of  the  church 


There  is  an  alternative  between  doing  what  is 
forced  on  us,  and  doing  just  as  we  ourselves  choose. 

Our  fathers  had,  another  communion  still  has, 
hard  and  fast  rules,  exacting  the  most  rigorous 
submission. 

Called  to  walk  in  that  which  we  believe  to  be  a 
better  way,  are  we  to  tread  that  way  more  carelessly  ? 

Because  the  Church  of  England  asks  for  loyalty 
and  voluntary  obedience,  are  we  to  reject  such  a 
freedom  to  follow  her  behests  on  Principle,  for  the 
license  of  self-will  and  wilful  ignorance  ? 

It  is  only  members  of  the  Church  of  England  that 
the  Prayer  Book  can  bind,  and  on  them  it  is  binding, 
obedience  in  such  a  matter  being  part  of  our  duty 
towards  God  under  Whose  good  providence  that 
Prayer  Book  has  been  received  and  lawlessness  in 
respect  to  which  is  against  His  Law  as  well  as  against 
that  of  His  Church. 

To  hearken  to  what  the  Prayer  Book,  as  the  voice 
of  the  Church  of  England,  orders  and  desires,  to 
observe  as  exactly  as  possible  both  the  directions  and 
dispositions  of  the  Church  as  exhibited  in  it  and  her 
other  Formularies,  in  the  evidence  of  her  History, 
and  the  counsels  and  judgments  of  her  Bishops,  is 
the  only  way  in  which  to  have  a  clear  conscience  and 
a  position  that  cannot  be  impugned. 

Men  can  never  all  have  just  the  same  notions  of 
things,  nor  the  same  ideas  as  to  the  best  arrangements 
for  worship  and  the  religious  conduct  of  life.  Man¬ 
kind  are  far  too  different  in  character  and  training, 


WORSHIP  IN  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  217 


in  circumstance  and  position,  in  education  and  in 
thought,  in  prepossession  and  taste,  for  Uniformity 
in  this  ;  but  all  can  sink  themselves  and  their  own 
ideas  and  ways  sufficiently  for  the  purpose  aimed  at, 
the  Unity  of  Common  Prayer  and  Common  Praise, 
and  to  ensure  the  preservation  of  peace  in  the  Church, 
the  procuring  of  reverence,  the  exciting  of  Piety  and 
the  exercise  of  Devotion  in  the  public  Worship  of 
God,  the  staying  of  offences,  and  the  preparation 
of  all  for  the  Worship  of  Heaven. 

THE  CHURCH’S  YEAR;  FASTS  AND  FESTIVALS 

The  Church's  Year — 

1.  Shows  the  dramatic  side  of  the  Faith  ;  setting 

forth  the  drama  of  a  World's  Redemption. 

2.  Maintains  the  Proportion  of  the  Faith. 

3.  As  the  connected  course  of  the  Church’s  life, 

but  repeats  on  an  infinitely  larger  scale,  the 
incidents  of  the  ordinary  Christian  Life. 

The  time  of  awakening,  the  time  of  new-birth, 
the  spring  of  first  life  into  fresh  energies,  the  testing 
of  temptation,  the  sacrifice  of  self,  the  dormancy  of 
spiritual  evidence,  the  renewed  existence  of  the 
sustained  soul,  the  ascended  citizenship  of  heaven, — 
all  are  mirrored  in  the  corporate  life  of  Christ's  Body, 
whilst  also  the  experience  of  every  member. 

Only  the  “  growth  in  grace  "  imaged  in  that  body 
passes  through  more  regular  and  unimpeded  courses 
than  with  us,  its  progress  is  triumphant  and  resistless 
as  the  Lord's,  the  likeness  of  Whose  sufferings  and 
glories  she  commemorates.  Not  so  do  we  reflect  the 
likeness  of  our  Lord — progress  with  us  is  broken,  the 


218  first  principles  of  the  church 


spiritual  energies  intermittent,  and  penitence  and 
joy  alike  are  broken  fragments  here  and  there  in  our 
lives. 

Lent,  for  example,  as  a  Church  Season,  is  the 
collected  and  focussed  image  of  those  scattered 
experiences  of  repentance  and  realized  forgiveness, 
and  presents  itself  in  the  only  form  possible  to  a  cor¬ 
porate  body ,  as  a  definite,  clearly-marked,  periodic 
Season. 

The  spiritual  life  is  essentially  and  characteristi¬ 
cally  a  life  of  Faith,  incidentally  of  Penitence  ;  there 
is  no  Penitence  in  Heaven. 

“  Discipline  ”  is  always  a  strain  when  conscious  ; 
therefore  necessarily  “  seasonable/'  Fasts  are  the 
time  of  self-discipline. 

The  keeping  of  stated  Fasts  witnesses  that  the 
Christian  life  is  not  the  ascetic  life  ;  it  sets  asceticism 
in  its  right  place — as  an  instrument,  not  an  ideal ; 
a  means,  not  an  end. 

Festivals  are  kept,  as — 

1.  Memorials  of  thankfulness — they  bear  the 
stamp  of  universal  indebtedness. 

2.  Memorials  of  instruction  —  commemorating 
typical  Saints  in  experience  and  training  and 
character — and  emphasizing  the  varied  forms  of 
sanctity  where  all  are  yet  saints. 

3.  Incentives  for  imitation  ;  witnessing  to  the 
Communion  of  Saints  unbroken — on  earth  and  in 
Paradise — in  Christ. 


CONCLUSION  219 

Upon  the  Church  of  England  lie  momentous 
responsibilities. 

Within  her  are  unborn  possibilities,  pregnant 
issues  affecting  the  destiny  of  the  World. 

On  her  faithfulness,  her  courage  and  her  wisdom, 
depends  in  a  unique  degree,  how  the  Eternal  Religion 
shall  be  known  to  man  in  time  to  come. 

She  is  neither  a  survival  of  Antiquity,  nor  a 
rudiment  of  the  unformed  Future,  but  a  living 
Creation,  inheriting  the  past,  developing  the  present, 

and  bracing  up  her  being,  to  fill  the  Ages  with  the 

* 

labours  and  the  riches  of  a  matured  vitality. 

She  is  no  compromise,  but  a  life  built  up  on 
elements  made  her  own  from  every  time,— and  grow¬ 
ing  still,  true  to  the  instinct  law  which  frames  her 
destiny,  by  the  all-sovereign  fiat  of  the  creative 
purposes  of  God. 

From  venerable  age  She  draws  the  credential 
witnesses  of  an  unbroken  Faith  and  Order  and 
Worship,  her  Spirit  of  devotion  and  reverence  ;  from 
the  new  birth  of  a  reformation,  the  fresh  energies 
of  free  and  fearless,  liberal,  thought  and  character,  her 
spirit  of  insight  and  love ;  from  the  Evangelical  and 
Catholic  quickening  of  later  days,  arise  refined 
asceticism  and  chastened  humanism. 

Her’s,  now,  a  life  enriched  with  subtleties 
manifold  and  unsuspected  strengths  :  a  Spirit, 
intangible  yet  resistless. 

Free,  grave,  mystic  and  intimate,  ardent  and 
restrained,  those  who  share  Her  Secret,  know  Her 


220  FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


communicant  of  the  life  of  God  and  most  meet 
celebrant  of  His  Mysteries. 


In  our  most  Holy  Faith  there  is  something  for 
patience,  something  for  fear,  much  yet  to  learn, 
much  yet  to  see;  much  yet  to  strive ;  much  more 
to  trust :  man  to  reverence,  God  to  adore,  Christ 
to  unite  and  bless  in  Earth  and  Heaven,  till  God 
be  all  in  all. 


THE  END 


PRINTED  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED,  LONDON  AND  BECCLES. 


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